Criticisms
Routine Activity Theory is mainly a macro theory of victimization. It tells us who is more likely to be victimized. But who are the offenders? There is a correlation between criminal victims and offenders, thus patterns found by Routine Activity Theorists could be misleading.
Furthermore, crimes rate if generally proportional to the number of motivated offenders, such as teenagers and unemployed people, in the population. Of course, motivation can be lowered when legitimate means are available for offenders to achieve their goals. Motivation can increase, when the option of crime is the only viable choice available for an offender to achieve their goals. Another deterrence that influences the routine activities that produces crime is the moral beliefs and socialization of the offender. If a person has been socialized to hold conventional beliefs, even in the presence of criminal opportunities, offenders would refrain from crime. Such is the strength of social bonds that serve as a buffer to counteract the lure of criminal activities.
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