Routine Activities And Vandalism: A Theoretical And Empirical Study

Using routine activity theory this paper examines vandalism victimization rates among a sample of 1,513 American college students at nine institutions. Relying on a sophisticated set of measures of community structures, conditions, victims’ alcohol, drug and other illegal activities, lifestyle activities, and security precautions, there is strong support found for the theory. Significant predictors of vandalism victimization risks include measures of target suitability, exposure to potential offenders, victim's offending behaviors, and measures of community structure, organization and cohesion.