Underlying causes. Routine activity theory
helps to explain why crime often is concentrated
at specific places. In particular,
routine activity points to how behavior is
regulated at the location by place managers—owners
of places or people acting
on an owner’s behalf. Behavior regulation falls under place management theory, a
part of routine activity theory. For example,
the difference between a bar that has
few or no incidents or assaults and a bar
with frequent assaults is likely to be that in
the first instance the bar employees regulate
the behavior of patrons to minimize
the chances of an assault, and in the second
instance, they do not. Such regulation
has three effects. It directly prevents criminal
activity through early intervention (e.g.,
controlling the number of drinks a patron
can consume), it attracts place users who
desire a well-regulated location over a
weakly regulated place (such people are
less likely to create problems), and it
repels place users who desire a weakly
regulated location over a well-regulated
place (Brantingham and Brantingham,
1995). Repeat places tend to be stable
over time (Spelman, 1995a), and this is
consistent with the routine activity theory
that an absence of effective place management
is at the heart of the problem.