The Prospects for Burglary Prevention in Australia

Abstract

This article reviews the extent, costs and causes of burglary; and reports on both successful and unsuccessful anti-burglary strategies. Burglary prevention is possible, but in Australia the prospects for major reductions are extremely poor. Current social trends are almost all criminogenic for this type of crime. Opportunities in the built environment are facilitated by increasing prosperity, increasing population densities and residential mobility, the continuing proliferation of consumer goods, and the consumption of services outside the home. Motives to take advantage of opportunities are fuelled by economic and cultural inequality and alienation, and the continuing demand for illegal drugs. Substantial reductions in burglary in both residential and commercial settings can only be achieved by highly eclectic means. Strategies which have shown some success are wide ranging and include measures such as property identification schemes, sound security management strategies in commercial premises, and insurance company sponsored home security programs. The article also considers 'upstream' strategies such as liberal methadone programs, and other approaches with less direct empirical support, but with rich potential. Integrated theory is essential to link the complex causes of burglary, but a feminist perspective is particularly useful given the salience of young men in the profile of burglars and the conflicts in male socialisation which contribute to this disproportionate representation. A brief exploration of the gender dimension supports a focus on early * The main text of this paper was presented at the Second National Outlook Symposium hosted by the Australian Institute of Criminology in Canberra, 3-4 March 1997. Thanks to Tom Pudney for permission to use NRMA graphs.