| Abstract: | In his controversial challenge to criminologists, Jack Katz argues for a reexamination of situational factors that precipitate criminal acts, specifically those that concern crime's sensual dynamics. According to Katz, people's immediate social environment and experiences encourage offenders to construct crimes as sensually compelling. Although insightfil, I suggest that this thesis is limited, specifically as it applies to “sneaky thrill” property crime. Katz's emphasis on the enticements of theft, at the expense of other variables, negates a considerable body of research and leaves a theoretical hiatus that encourages explanations grounded in individual pathology. I suggest a revision of Katz 's approach that addresses these concerns. I test this reformulation with models of various stages of sneaky thrill theft. The results of this analysis affirm that the seduction of theft has an important instrumentalist component and is influenced by several background factors, namely, age, gender, and the strain associated with inadequate econ om ic opportunities. |
