Every week, we help business owners make decisions about protecting their premises, their people, and their assets. One question comes up repeatedly: “How do I know what security measures will actually work?” The answer starts with understanding why crimes happen in the first place.
The Three Elements that Create Crime
Sociologists Marcus Felson and Lawrence Cohen developed a criminological framework called the Routine Activity Theory (RAT), and it helps explains something we see constantly: crime happens when three things come together at the same time:
- Opportunity. Something worth stealing, damaging, or disrupting has to be accessible. In business, this might be cash, equipment, data, or simply the ability to disrupt your operations.
- Motivation. Someone has to want what you have or want to cause you problems. This could be financial desperation, anger at your company, or simple opportunism.
- No Capable Guardian. There has to be no effective deterrent present (eg, alarm systems, CCTV, fence lines). This is where security comes in, and it’s the element you have the most control over.
Why This Matters for Your Business
Understanding these three elements changes how we approach your security. We can’t eliminate opportunity entirely because you need your business to be accessible to customers and staff. We can’t control who might be motivated to target you. But we can absolutely strengthen the “capable guardian” element through monitored cameras, access controls, and trained staff.
When all three elements come together, crime becomes likely. When we disrupt even one element, crime becomes much less likely. Real, effective security isn’t about having the most cameras or the loudest alarms. It’s about understanding your specific risks and designing responses that actually work when you need them.