Lifestyle theory is constructed upon several premises:
• Crime occurs differently in different places. Some places are more high risk, and some times of day have a higher possibility of a crime occurring.
• Offenders have characteristics that are different from most people. • Certain lifestyles, like being exposed to more crimogenitic area and people, increase the likelihood of victimization. The more often you go to high risk places, the more likely to you are to be a victim.
Lifestyle and Routine Activities as Explanations of Victimization
Lifestyle and routine activities continue to be significant theories of victimization, even with their flaws. In addition to each theory having strong support individually, Miethe, Stafford, and Long (1987) found that lifestyle factors and one’s routines interact to increase the potential for victimization. It has become common to use factors from both of these theories together when looking at crime and victimization. Some have begun to almost merge the two theories together. Yet, as Pratt and Turanovic (2016) point out, the melding of these two theories can be problematic in the understanding of victimization. Specifically, their ideas about how “risk” should be conceived are very different. The notion of probabilistic risk of victimization, according to Pratt and Turanvoic, is more scientifically minded and important to consider when looking to prevent crime.