The discussion notes that the presence or absence of situational factors helps explain the distribution of crime in society. Various opportunity theories have recently been proposed to account for these variations, but they fail to give sufficient attention to the process of situational selection. Thus, our knowledge of this aspect of offender behavior is unsystematic and often speculative. The model considers the relationship between crime types and situations. It suggests that different types of crime are found in different situations and that offenders vary in the degree to which they engage in situational selection. These hypotheses were tested using victimization survey data from the United States and Venezuela. The results largely confirmed the model. Tables; notes; 54 references; and discussion of implication for the model, opportunity theories, and crime prevention policy (Author abstract modified)