Digital Crime Theories
Shertoya Vaughn shertoyat@gmail.com Professor Nick George
CIS 170
02/15/2015

Digital Crime Theories Routine activity theories is a theory that a researcher could use to explain the cause of digital crime, because routine activities theory is based on rational choice. Routine activities theory was developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson. Cohen and Felson argue that the motivation to commit crime and the supply of offenders are constant (Brenner, S.). There are many that would argue that the change in crime rates are due to the change in the number of the motivated offenders. Cohen and Felson argue that there is always a steady supply of offenders who are ready and motivated to commit crimes, Changes in crime rates are due to changes in the availability of targets and the absence of capable guardians (Blevins, K. & Holt, T.). Crime can occur when these factors come into play: A motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian along with time and space. All of these factors must be present in order for a crime to occur. These motivated offenders make rational choices and choose vulnerable targets that are lacking capable guardianship. Victimization can also be accountable by this theory, it can occur most likely when an individual is in the same area as these motivated offenders, an individual makes themselves an attractive target to these offenders, or just having the lack of capable guardianship. Individuals that have a higher percentage of deviant behaviors and those who engage in criminal activities are at an increased risk of victimization. This theory is applicable to digital crime because the rapidly growing use of computers and the Internet has made the number of vulnerable targets so much larger. Any computers that are online at any giving time are threats for hackers, and malicious software writers.
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