Routine Activity Theory and Petty Theft at Car Washes

Abstract

Routine Activity Theory to Petty Theft Getting hosed: Petty theft in the car wash industry and the fifth suitability criterion in routine activities theory The main research question is how one can apply Routine Activity Theory to explain how varying opportunity structures encourage or discourage criminal behavior and victimization. The authors hypothesize that increased deviant behavior enhances crime activity and victimization. One can argue that the current study is inductive research since it starts with the specific arguments that scholars associate with RAT and ends with the general findings based on their researchers’ observations. It is a study whose results remain based on experience and observations on the extent to which drivers' perception fosters actual crime in the long run. The current study is an explanatory goal-oriented study since the authors explain why phenomena occur (in this case, why petty theft occurs at car washes) and what fosters such petty crimes as assumed in the Routine Activity Theory. The authors explain why the three elements of RAT (suitable target, lack of guardianship, and presence of motivated offender) foster criminal activity amongst full-time service car washers giving readers a chance to think of a possible remedy to such routine crimes. The present study expresses content validity as it represents what it aims to measure. Based on the research, the authors set a logical environment at the car wash that can best help them measure the extent to which RAT elements enhance crime activity and victimization. The more increased the driver behavior becomes deviant, the better the results regarding victimization. The more the lack of guardianship and exposure to the deliberately left coins, the higher the attempt to steal the money. Such approaches set clear grounds for measuring the study’s hypothesis. The non-probability sampling method becomes very meaningful in qualitative research. For this reason, the current study has employed convenience sampling whereby the researcher have considered the regular full-time service car washers and standard driver as their convenient sample. Basically, the sample used in this study became used because it was a readily available and most convenient source of data for the researchers. Petty theft (criminal activity at the car wash) is the dependent variable since it is the outcome variable that becomes realized through manipulation of the three main RAT elements (it is the...