The Influence of Planned Aggression on the Journey to Homicide: An Examination Across Typology Classifications

• Author: Nicholas Corsaro,Jesenia M. Pizarro,Jillian Shafer
• Date: 01 August 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/1088767916679206
• Published date: 01 August 2017
• Subject Matter: Articles

Homicide Studies

2017, Vol. 21(3) 179 –198

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DOI: 10.1177/1088767916679206

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Article

The Influence of Planned

Aggression on the

Journey to Homicide: An

Examination Across Typology

Classifications

Nicholas Corsaro1, Jesenia M. Pizarro2,

and Jillian Shafer1

Abstract

We assessed the impact of planned aggression across homicide mobility types

in Newark, New Jersey, from 1997 through 2007. Homicides where offenders

traveled to victims’ resident/incident locales were more likely to involve aggressive

intent, whereas homicides where victims traversed to offender/incident locales

were less likely to involve planned aggression. Planned aggression was unrelated

to geographically proximate (internal) homicides as well as geographically distinct

(total mobility) homicides. Study findings show that routine activities and situational

characteristics are not only important in explaining homicide patterns but also

demonstrate that planned aggression meaningfully contributes to the routine activities

and environmental criminology frameworks under specific geographic conditions.

Keywords

mobility triangle typologies, planned aggression, routine activities, environmental

criminology

A growing body of research has suggested that a a majority of violent crime incidents

occur within a few miles of victims’ and offenders’ residences (Groff & McEwen, 2007;

Pizarro, Corsaro, & Yu, 2007). The spatial overlap between the incident location,

1University of Cincinnati, OH, USA

2Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA

Corresponding Author:

Nicholas Corsaro, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210389, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.

Email: corsarns@ucmail.uc.edu

679206HSXXXX10.1177/1088767916679206Homicide StudiesCorsaro et al.

research-article2016

180 Homicide Studies 21(3)

offender residence, and victim residence is typically referred to as the “mobility trian-

gle” (Tita & Griffiths, 2005). To date, various mobility triangle types have emerged

(e.g., internal/neighborhood, predatory, victim mobility, and total mobility), and

researchers have attempted to model the situational and structural correlates that explain

the unique spatial patterns that exist across crime types. Despite recent developments

within the literature, there remains a lack of clarity regarding the impact that premedita-

tion may have on journey to crime patterns. Past research has inferred that the motiva-

tion to the journey to crime is likely a result of the actors’ (i.e., victims and offenders)

routine activities, but this thesis has not been tested within a multivariate analytical

framework.

The current study builds on the mobility literature by examining the reason for the

journey to crime (i.e., violence) among homicide victims and offenders. This study

serves as both a replication and extension of prior scholarship. Studies show that there

are distinct event and demographic characteristics that correspond with different

homicide mobility types (Groff & McEwen, 2007; Tita & Griffiths, 2005). Therefore,

we replicate these studies to assess whether actor demographic features and incident

characteristics are related to distinct homicide mobility types across different social

settings and time frames. We also extend prior research by examining whether the

homicide actors (the victim, the offender, or both) specifically journeyed to the inci-

dent with the intent to confront and/or kill the other party. Previous research has sug-

gested that the routine activities of daily life explains both individual and event

characteristics of homicide mobility patterns (Pizarro et al., 2007; Tita & Griffiths,

2005). A key assumption of routine activities theory is that offenders (in particular) act

impulsively when a suitable victim and an incident location (absent guardianship)

converge in time and space (Cohen & Felson, 1979). The presence or absence of

planned aggression can either undermine or reinforce the validity of the different

homicide mobility classifications that are explained by routine activities and environ-

mental criminology frameworks. This study addresses this void in the literature by

examining the role that planned aggression has on victim/offender mobility across

homicide types.

Theoretical Framework and Review of Relevant

Literature

Offense Mobility Triangles in Violence Research

Burgess (1925) was the first to assess and classify mobility patterns in his study of

juvenile delinquency. His seminal work classified incidents as follows: (a) mobility

incidents, or crimes in which the offenders did not reside in the neighborhood where

the crime occurred, and (b) neighborhood incidents, or crimes in which the offender

resided in the same neighborhood where the offense occurred. Typologies with a

greater level of precision that account for the victims’ and offenders’ residential onset

as well as the location of the incident have since emerged. For example, Tita and

Griffiths (2005) and Groff and McEwen (2007), developed a five-group typology: