Summary
| Autor | Alfonso Serrano Maíllo |
| Páginas | 275-294 |
A metatheory of motivation and opportunity as descriptions of crimes as events
Alfonso Serrano-Maíllo
aserranom@der.uned.es
Page 275
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Though the idea of opportunity has a long-standing tradition in Criminology that goes back at least to Quetelet, its fundamental role for criminological theory, for research and for the prevention and control of crime has only recently been properly acknowledged. One of the main reasons for the central place occupied by opportunity at the moment is related to Hindelang's seminal work and contributions. His relevance for contemporary Criminology cannot be exaggerated. For this reason, as well as for the inspiration I have always found in his work and attitude towards science, this book is modestly dedicated to his memory. Hindelang and his colleagues' lifestyles theory has made a special contribution to the relevance of opportunity in the field. Other progress in the same direction can be traced to: the routine activities theory (occasionally also referred to simply as opportunity theory) which may, or may not, be considered different to lifestyles theory; the intense debate generated by the self-control theory regarding the role of opportunity in it; the popu-larity of the opportunity element among the integrated theories which have recently become very popular and, finally, the pragmatic concerns of many criminological theorists, who have seen in the recommendations of opportunity theories a Page 276 way to meet the demand for preventive initiatives derived from theoretical constructions, i.e. one of the many demands faced today by any theoretically-oriented scholar.
The idea of opportunity has received relatively little attention in the social sciences in general, even in recent times. Economic approaches, especially, make extensive use of the concept of opportunity cost; Elster, working in the tradition of rational choice and its paradoxes, uses and defines opportunities as "the options or means among which the agent can 'choose'"; opportunism is seen by some scholars as a view of human nature, with rather Machiavellian aspects; Tilly includes opportunism as a type of interpersonal collective violence in his well-known taxonomy; finally, the concept is also found in the field of social movements or collective action with Tarrow, for example, suggesting that movements of this kind usually require an opportunity window if they are to be successful. All of these are legitimate and interesting uses of opportunity, but they will not be considered here. However, their presence in Criminology, when it exists, is not comparable to other uses of the term.
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Though dictionaries usually offer seemingly simple definitions of opportunity, the term has been applied to very different things in Criminology, i.e. there does not seem to be a unitary concept of opportunity. There even seem to be occasions when the word can be used in a way that has little or nothing to do with the field.
What, therefore, does opportunity mean in Criminology? This difficult question cannot be answered with just one definition. First, though, some uses of the term can be excluded from our interests. For example, some authors suggest that the existence of cars is a necessary condition for someone to steal a car and they refer this to an opportunity factor. Mackie has proposed the concept of causal field. The causal field is the part of the scenario in which causality takes place. For example, for a crime to take place the offender has to be alive, the world has to exist, an earthquake should not happen, etc. Page 277 These conditions should not be considered necessary elements for a crime to take place, but just elements of the causal field. For this reason, the existence of cars should not be seen as a genuine opportunity, as a cause of crime, but part of the (causal) scenario in which crime can take place.
According to the routine activities theory, an opportunity exists when there is a suitable target. This is an ad-hoc term for this work and I do not claim it is the only one relevant for the field. Sometimes it is also true that an absence of capable guardians is a necessary condition for an opportunity to exist, but not always (it may belong to the causal field). Finally, a motivated offender can never be part of the definition (at a concrete level). Wilcox and others suggest otherwise but, from my point of view, they confuse opportunity with criminal event. As we will see below, motivated offender and suitable target are redundant elements in a theory about criminal events. This is because an individual or an offender can only commit a crime if he perceives a suitable target. Suitable targets may exist without the presence of a motivated offender, but they can never be translated into a criminal event without a motivated offender. (So opportunities are risks that require decisions to instantiate a result, in this case a crime).
Unfortunately, this concept of opportunity as the presence of a suitable target (usually in the absence of capable guardians) (like most other concepts) disregards other uses of the term in the field of Criminology. This paper, in any case, follows this definition derived from routine activities theory.
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It is important to recognise the importance of certain distinctions found in the literature. It is not possible to properly demarcate objective and subjective senses of opportunity (its complex nature as a modality of risks should not be forgotten). But a distinction can be introduced on theoretical and analytical grounds. From this point of view, the really problematic sense of opportunity for Criminology seems to be the objective one. The objective sense is the one that seems problematic for theories about criminals. Page 278
Another important distinction is that between opportunity in abstract and concrete terms. The latter is directly related to a criminal event, but not the former. The relation between criminality/motivation and opportunity depends on this distinction. When we say that the more cars there are, the more crimes there will be (because there are more opportunities), we are at an abstract level. When we explain an event in terms of opportunity, for example, a car with the keys in the ignition, we are at a concrete level. General theories of crime can be understood in this way. Let us take, for example, the social learning theory. It can refer to an (abstract) tendency of an individual or group of individuals to commit crimes. Differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement and imitation (i.e. criminality) are related here to crime at the abstract level. When we talk about a concrete event in which the criminal's action can be related to his differential associations, definitions, differential reinforcement and imitation (i.e. motivation), we are at the concrete level1. The distinction is important because the relation between concepts and theories about criminals and theories about opportunities depends on the level of analysis2.
Other distinctions can be considered, but they are not so important in this book.
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Opportunity has, and has had, many uses in Criminology. Unfortunately, as we have already seen, the concept of opportunity in the present monograph, as with other definitions, leaves out many of these uses. Page 279
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Some studies insist that, at least in some instances, it is not possible to become a criminal or to follow a criminal career without an opportunity. Mentorship in order to become a professional criminal is an example and, as such, is reflected in important works such as Sutherland's The professional thief, Klockar's Fence or Steffensmeier's Fence. Another important example regarding the illegal opportunities that are required is Cloward and Ohlin's differential opportunity systems theory.
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Criminological research has also studied the relation between licit opportunities and crime. Examples include the potential relation between licit opportunities at a macro level and crime; juvenile job opportunities and crime; or licit opportunities and desistance.
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In certain situations, opportunities to commit crimes are widely available, as is the case when certain laws are not enforced. This can happen at different levels of analysis, and the literature offers examples of countries or parts of countries (for example parts of Colombia or Italy), and of transnational activities where at least some forms of crime (as legally defined) are not properly prosecuted.
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Finally, an opportunity may be a requirement for crime. This is the sense of the definition used in, and the object of, the present monograph (opportunity as a suitable target and sometimes including the absence of capable guardians).
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Criminological theories have paid attention to, or are at least compatible with, all these uses of opportunity. The point is that none of them presents an insoluble problem for criminological theories: they can explain issues and problems presented...
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