ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the evidence supporting the notion that a proportion of offending is driven by the availability of opportunities presented in the routine activities of offenders’ lives. It aims to summarize A. I. Miller’s time measurement theory in order to describe a basic language with which to discuss the movement of people through time and space. New work by geographers concerned with the temporal behavior of people across space provides an opportunity to explore the spatio-temporal dimension to offending with greater clarity. Armed with a notation and a way to articulate space-time interactions, the chapter explores the criminological implications of temporal constraints as a mechanism to explain a number of key concepts from environmental criminology. It suggests that the temporal constraints imposed by a need to be at a certain place at a certain time inhibit criminal behavior and the spatial search patterns of many offenders, and this insight has implications for criminal justice policy.
