Introduction
Cyber stalking can be defined as the repeated pursuit of an individual using electronic or internet-capable devices (Reyns, Henson, & Fisher, 2012). A number of online behaviours carried out by the offender can be considered cyber stalking. According to the National Crime Victimization Study, these behaviours include harassment or threats via e-mail, instant messenger, chat rooms, message or bulletin boards (Baum, Catalano, Rand & Rose, 2009). This analytical review will be discussing four sources that examine the routine activity theory, and whether it can be used to explain cyber stalking victimization. The routine activity theory (RAT) provides an explanation of how opportunities for criminal victimization are produced by individuals’
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The study of cybercrime in the light of RAT has been tested moderately well, but does suffer from some miss measurements and methodological issues. These issues largely stem from the novelty of the subject. Previous criticisms by scholars such as Yar have argued that the lack of false information regarding the motivated offender weakens the power of RAT. However, the theory does offer significant promise in explaining crime causation in the cyber world by tracing what activities or tools might increase or decrease chances of cyber stalking and …show more content…
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