Investigating Burglars' Decisions: Factors Influencing Target Choice, Method of Entry, Reasons for Offending, Repeat Victimisation of a Property and Victim Awareness

Abstract

This paper describes a survey of domestic burglars which investigated their offending behaviour. Information was collected on factors influencing choice of target, preferred method of entry into properties, reasons for committing burglaries, planning of offences, repeat offending at a particular property, and burglars' awareness of victims. The results showed that specific factors within the four categories of occupancy, surveillance, accessibility and security influenced target choice and method of entry, as did previous experience. In line with previous research, it was found that a number of the burglars had targeted the same property more than once. Interestingly, the findings suggest that installation of new security measures did little to deter repeat victimisation. Knowing the occupants of a property had a high deterrence value, which, when linked to responses about awareness of victims, suggests that it may prove to be useful in preventing revictimisation.