Acquisitive Crime Research Articles

Risk and Reward Perceptions in Acquisitive Crime: A Comparative Analysis of Credit Fraud, Drug Dealing, Burglary, and Robbery

Acquisitive crimes share a common thread in that they focus on obtaining some form of benefit. There is considerable variation in the potential risks and rewards inherent in each crime type, however. This study assessed whether perceptions of risk, rewards, and social costs differentially predict engagement in four acquisitive crimes: credit fraud, drug selling, burglary, and robbery. This study also examined specialization within these offenses. The results suggested that increased risk perceptions reduced the odds of engagement in burglary and drug selling. Reward perceptions increased odds of engagement in fraud, burglary, and robbery. There was limited specialization, with some exception for drug selling. Understanding the perceptual dynamics of acquisitive crime is important for developing policies tailored to specific crime types.

Offenders’ perspectives on acquisitive crime targets and stolen goods disposal methods

This paper examines offenders’ perspectives about acquisitive crime targets and stolen goods markets in Australia that have not been comprehensively reviewed since 2005. Over the last 18 years there have been significant changes in the rates of property crime, reductions in cash usage, and rapid movements to online markets as a disposal outlet, that motivate this updated analysis. In late 2022, n = 107 detainees in a Western Australian police watchhouse were interviewed about their property offending frequency, offence preferences, target selection, disposal methods, and estimated financial return for targeted goods. Results demonstrated (a) meaningful shifts towards shoplifting and away from the other stealing offences, (b) increases in stealing for personal consumption rather than selling on, (c) declines in preferences for small electronic items, (d) ongoing dependence on drug dealers as a preferred outlet for off-loading stolen goods, (e) disposal of stolen goods is still quick, easy, and typically offenders receive about one-third of the original purchase price for items, and (f) growth in the use of online markets to dispose of stolen goods. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed, emphasising the importance of opportunity-focused interventions to prevent crime.

ПРОГНОЗУВАННЯ КІЛЬКОСТІ КРАДІЖОК В УМОВАХ ПОВОЄНОГО ЧАСУ В УКРАЇНІ

In the article, based on the probabilistic prognosis methodology, probabilistic indicators of the number of thefts in post-war Ukraine are calculated. There is the most powerful factors influencing acquisitive crime taking into account. The task is complicated by the reduced ability to obtain accurate socially significant information in wartime conditions, and this data greatly influences the accuracy of the prognosis. Prognostication under martial law is difficult when choosing a scenario that requires accurate input data, and the scenario approach calls into question the accuracy of the prognosis within the selected scenario. In this case, an option was chosen that seemed promising and is based on the use of probabilistic statistical methods, which are closely related to randomness. The dynamics of the postwar number of thefts should certainly be influenced by the state of alcohol abuse among criminals, as well as the likelihood of drug and other intoxicant abuse among criminals. And these probabilities also need to be forecasted. If during the war this indicator among the general population increased by one third and up to 11%, respectively, then after the war it should decrease among the general population and increase among the unemployed population, whose share will increase. As a result, it was found that a catastrophic scenario is unlikely, since the probable quantitative indicators of the number of thefts will be within the range of up to 5% of the indicator for the number of delinquent projected population of the country, equality to which or exceeding which would lead the development scenario exponentially, that is, completely uncontrolled development path. It has been established that the most favorable prognosis of the number of thefts in post-war Ukraine makes it possible to eliminate panic in this matter. However, the probabilistic prognosis does not exclude the possibility of exponential growth of this type of criminal offense in post-war Ukraine over the course of 4–5 years. Key words: probability, war, theft, crime, prognostication, factor.

Assessing the early influence of COVID-19 in an analysis of the immediate implementation of Minimum Pricing for Alcohol on drinkers in Wales.

Background: The Welsh Government has commissioned a number of projects to consider the influence their implementation of Minimum Pricing for Alcohol (MPA) legislation in March 2020 had on the alcohol consumption and related behaviours of drinkers. Given the MPA's overlap with the COVID-19 pandemic and its related lockdown measures and restrictions, this rapidly became a story about the early impact of COVID-19 as it did MPA. This paper captures the core thematic messages from this specific strand of work, and in doing so reflects on (1) how early experiences of COVID-19 and the first lockdown influenced consumption and purchasing of alcohol behaviours and, in turn, (2) how relevant the introduction of MPA was for any of these. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone with 32 drinkers 9 months after the implementation of the legislation in March 2020. The sample was recruited from three sources: the National Survey for Wales; a third sector organisation offering housing support to the homeless; and through an online survey on MPA. Results: COVID-19 had more relevance than MPA to drinkers. Furthermore, when MPA did have an influence on their behaviour, it was felt most keenly by the harmful drinkers in the study. These drinkers described spending more on alcohol, switching to other potentially more harmful substances, such as crack cocaine and synthetic cannabinoids, and more involvement in acquisitive crime and begging after the price increase. While our results might be an early indication of the influence of MPA on harmful drinkers, the small sample of this group in our study limits the generalisability of the findings. Conclusion: To date, the implementation of MPA has had little influence on the drinking patterns or lives of the drinkers in our sample. It is important that future research examines the longer-term influences of MPA before any conclusions on its effectiveness can be drawn.

Acquisitive Crime Trends: Unpacking the Unemployment-Crime Relationship in a Rural Context

Tests of criminological theory are conducted almost exclusively about urban spaces. In urban areas, rates of property and acquisitive crime are often tied to economic structural health through institutional anomie and market society theories. Examinations of the connection between economic structures and acquisitive crime in rural spaces are lacking in the literature. This study uses United States’ NCVS data from 1993-2005 examine trends in acquisitive crime over time from a macro level economic theoretical perspective in rural United States counties. Implications for additional rural theory tests will be addressed.

Scoping the links between acquisitive crime, criminal predation and family business

PurposeThe stereotypes of the dodgy businessman and businessman gangster are established typologies in both the criminology and family business literature, but nevertheless, there is still an evident dearth of substantive studies on the topic. Family business scholars have begun to acknowledge the limited nature of such explorations of criminality in family firm businesses. The purpose of this article is therefore to review, synthesise and solidify existing research on this under-researched area of family business management.Design/methodology/approachThis perspective article explores and synthesises the links between acquisitive crime, criminal predation and family business to address an identifiable research gap in the literature of criminology, entrepreneurship and family business. It examines the overlap between criminal activities and business practices, shedding light on how individuals in the family business community may become involved in criminal activities due to various factors, including coercion, addiction and financial gain.FindingsThis perspective highlights emerging research trends that have the potential to increase the knowledge about the “dark side” of family business.Research limitations/implicationsBeing a perspective paper this brief exploration of the literature can only cover a small cross section of the literature. A conceptual model emerges, which illustrates shared aspects of crimino-entrepreneurial identity between authentic entrepreneurs and criminals.Originality/valueThis perspective article scopes the extant literature covering the links between acquisitive crime, criminal predation and family business to help guide the direction of future research. The piece presents new perspectives on the intersection of acquisitive crime and family business, and its novelty lies in its synthesis of the disparate elements from the diverse literature to contribute to the said literature.

Understanding the rise of fraud in England and Wales through field theory: Blip or flip?

There is a debate at the highest levels of government and civil society over whether the rise in fraud is a blip exacerbated by the pandemic or a more fundamental transformation (or flip) in the structure of crime. This paper examines this debate by exploring the social factors influencing the level of fraud. It does so by conceptualising these factors as a fraud field, offering a novel way to visualise and consider vulnerability through the broad categories of ‘threats’ and ‘safeguards’ which influence levels of fraud. In doing so it offers the first attempt to map the wide range of ‘forces’ that influence levels of fraud and produces a mathematical expression of this, which will provide a basis for further debate, refinement and research. The threats include the myriad of opportunities, the large population of fraudsters, and the range of human and technology enablers that support the fraudsters. The principal safeguards that resist the fraud threat are culture, the law and the defensive resilience of individuals and organisations. Using the fraud field and official crime statistics, the paper argues that the safeguards are so structurally weak that the fraud epidemic is not a blip, but an opportunistic flip from traditional acquisitive crimes. The forces influencing levels of fraud mean high volumes of fraud will continue at the current levels or even accelerate further, unless there is a collective national strategy to strengthen the safeguards.

СУДИМОСТЬ В БАШКИРИИ ВО ВТОРОЙ ПОЛОВИНЕ 1960-Х - СЕРЕДИНЕ 1970-Х ГГ.: ДИНАМИКА И ОСОБЕННОСТИ

For the first time, from a historical perspective, an attempt was made to study the dynamics of convictions, types and categories of crimes, social characteristics of convicts in Bashkiria in the second half of the 1960s - mid-1970s. A special part in the structure of convictions was occupied by crimes against the person: murder, rape, bodily harm. The proportion of those convicted of premeditated murder in 1966 was 1.7%, in 1971 - 1.9% of the total number of those convicted. In 1976, for especially grave crimes - premeditated murders, the death penalty was applied to 10 people. About a third of those convicted were convicted of hooliganism, which has become a common deviant behavior. In the years under review, more than a quarter of the total number of convicts were convicted for acquisitive crimes, in particular for theft of state and personal property. Increased the criminogenic potential of society and parasitism, at the time of the crime, more than 1/10 of the convicted did not work or study. Active alcoholization of the country led to an increase in crime and criminal record: over half of the crimes were committed by drunk people. Certain social and class differences were observed in the structure of the convicts: more than half of them were workers, collective farmers and employees occupied approximately 1/6 and 1/10 of the convicts. Pensioners and housewives committed crimes, their share in these years amounted to about 2.5% of those convicted. Over a third of the convicts had only primary education. In 1966-1971 the scale of recidivism among persons with outstanding convictions (previously convicted, serving sentences) increased by 3.6 times; in 1976, persons with previous convictions made up more than a third of all convicts, which called into question the effectiveness of the penitentiary system.

Perceptions of safety and experiences of gender-based violence at UK music festivals

Crime and safety at UK music festivals is a subject of growing concern for festival management, police and festival-goers, bolstered by increasing media coverage of incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault. To date, however, there has been limited evidence regarding festival-goers’ experiences and perspectives concerning safety, particularly in relation to gender-based violence at music festivals. Using data from a mixed methods pilot study, this article presents the findings of a self-selecting survey of 450 festival-goers which asked respondents about their perceptions of safety and experiences of different crime and harms including gender-based violence at UK music festivals. The findings reveal that most respondents report feeling safe at festivals, but various personal, social and environmental factors may increase or reduce these feelings of safety, and these are gendered. Similarly, although experiences of acquisitive crime, hate crime and stalking were low and broadly similar for women and men, a third of women experienced sexual harassment and 8% experienced sexual assault – significantly higher than the reported levels among male respondents. We argue that festivals must work proactively with key stakeholders and agencies, as well as artists and patrons, to develop clear policies and initiatives to prevent sexual violence.

Exploring the relationship between psychopathy and criminal thinking: utilising the Tri-PM within a forensic sample

PurposeThe Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (Tri-PM) was developed in 2010 as an alternative approach to the assessment of psychopathy. The measure aims to capture psychopathic traits on a 3-factor model, which encompass the characteristics established in previous measures, as well as those evidenced within practise. Though support for the tool in academic research is growing, less is known about the scale’s utility within crime forensic settings. Thus, this study aims to explore the relationship between the Tri-PM psychopathy constructs and criminal cognition within a forensic sample.Design/methodology/approachSeventy-three adult male offenders, convicted for acquisitive or sexual crimes, from a Category B prison within the Northwest of England completed questionnaires measuring their criminal backgrounds, psychopathy traits (Tri-PM; Patrick, 2010) and criminal thinking styles (Psychology Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles; Walters, 2001).FindingsThe Tri-PM measurement proved to be a successful predictor of most criminal thinking styles. Moreover, the meanness construct was the strongest predictor of proactive thinking styles, whereas the disinhibition construct was the strongest predictor of reactive thinking styles, and the boldness construct was negatively associated with reactive thinking. Comparisons among offender groups also indicated that acquisitive offenders reported higher scores of psychopathy and criminal thinking.Originality/valueThis study offers valuable insight into the proposed relationship between psychopathy and criminal thinking, using a recent addition to the repertoire of psychopathy measurements, the Tri-PM. This study also offers practical implications for those offering treatment within forensic settings, with significant relationships identified between the highly scoring psychopathy constructs and various criminal thinking styles.

Коррекция криминальной зараженности подростков с делинквентным поведением

The problem of criminal infection of teenagers and youth is actualized in connection with their delinquent behavior. Domestic and foreign approaches to the explanation of criminal infection are considered, its features are characterized and the relationship with the criminal subculture is determined. The principles of countering its spread among minors serving sentences in correctional institutions of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia are substantiated. It is assumed that the correction of criminal infection can be carried out by the method of psychological training through the formation of universal human values in adolescents, increasing the meaning of life and developing a critical attitude towards the criminal subculture. 
 In the framework of empirical research, this assumption is tested. The sample of the study is 99 adolescents serving sentences for committing acquisitive and acquisitive-violent crimes, all of them are male, cf. age 17.26 years, SD - 0.94 years. The assessment of the level of infection is carried out by a questionnaire on the criminal infection of minors. Correction is carried out by the method of role-playing psychological training in a subsample of adolescents with a high rate of criminal infection. A significant decrease in the criminal infection of the experiment participants was established in terms of the emotional and behavioral components of the criminal infection (U-crit, p ≤ 0.05). 
 The results indicate the possibility of influencing the level of criminal infection of minors by the method of psychological training, which develops meaningful life orientations, time perspective and devalues the attractive aspects of the criminal subculture. Based on the results obtained, the ways and prospects of psychological correction of criminal infection are discussed.

Criminals on the road? An exploratory study of those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in Taipei City, Taiwan, 2014−2018

Empirical research conducted in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe has accumulated over the last 50 years and has identified links between mainstream crime (e.g. violence and acquisitive crime) and driving offences (e.g. dangerous driving, drink driving, driving while disqualified). Put simply, international evidence reveals that a driver's willingness to commit driving offences tends to be associated with a willingness to commit other types of offence. Unlike the Anglophone countries and Europe, no peer-reviewed published research in Greater China has considered this matter empirically. Our article uses data from a data set ( n = 368) of those convicted of causing death by dangerous driving over a 4-year period (2014 − 2018) in Taipei City, capital of Taiwan, to examine associations with prior criminal history and criminal versatility in this sample of convicted drivers. Our analysis indicates the following results: the Taiwanese sample of serious driving offenders had a somewhat low prevalence of prior conviction – over 70% had no prior conviction record. None of the measures used provides evidence for any significant ‘versatility’ on the part of drivers convicted of serious driving offences. Further studies in Taiwan scrutinizing patterns in driving and mainstream criminal offences are needed, as are more nuanced analyses of the versatility of offending. Our article makes recommendations for further research in Taiwan.

Property Seizure Effectiveness in the Context of Official Statistics

In 2003, the legislator decided to exclude the seizure of property from the realm of criminal law, which scientists assessed rather critically. Almost two decades later, despite the problems in the field of combating acquisitive crime, there have been no adjustments to this decision in essence. The paper determines the preventive potential of property seizure as a measure of punishment (in the form in which it existed before the exclusion) based on the analysis of data from the Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation for the period from 2004 to 2020. This data includes the number of those convicted of crimes subject to seizure until 2003, as well as the proportion of convicts on these offenses in comparison with the bodies of crimes without classifying elements. The study resulted in that the hypothesis that property seizure, as an independent type of punishment, was effective, its abolition led to a significant loss of the preventive potential of the sanction, and imposition of a punishment that did not correspond to the nature and degree of social danger did not find its confirmation. Consequently, the argument that property seizure had a significant preventive potential that was lost after the 2003 legislative adjustment, at least in relation to crimes against property and banditry, is quite debatable. The effectiveness of this measure of punishment was significantly reduced by its additional and optional nature. It seems justified to correct the criminal law in terms of the introduction of imprisonment as the main punishment for bribery.

Оffenses Against Property in the Conditions of Digital Transformation

The article discusses some issues of criminal liability for offenses against property committed in the conditions of digital transformation, which causes the emergence of new ways of committing crimes that require improvement of criminal law regulation at the present stage of public relations' development. The article pays special attention to the problems of qualification of individual criminal encroachments committed with the use of information and telecommunication technologies and computer information. The issues of determining some elements, as well as the qualification of special fraud crimes, for which attackers use electronic means of payment, computer systems, digital accesses, are considered. The article focuses on the lack of consensus in opinion among the scientific community and law enforcers regarding the definition of the object and subject of this crime, existing difficulties in identifying the objective side, as well as disjoint of approaches to the practice of qualifying acquisitive crimes committed using information and telecommunication technologies and computer information. In addition, some problems related to the definition of cryptocurrency as a subject of crimes are considered. In order to solve the problems, an analysis of law enforcement practice was carried out, existing trends and contradictions in the differentiation of the problematic aspects are identified. Finally, the article substantiates the conclusion that the high speed of information technology development requires the criminal legislation dynamism, which should reflect public relations changes in the context of digital globalization. It is emphasized, that certain steps to regulate public relations in the context of digital globalization have been taken by the legislation. However, the issue of adapting the criminal law to the new conditions and current demands of the information society is one of the priorities.

Offender insight into Australian stolen goods markets from 2002–2017: the DUMA survey as a 16-year window into property crime offenders’ target selections and disposal

ABSTRACT Since 2002, seven iterations of the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) programme survey have asked arrested offenders about their stealing behaviours, including questions relating to stolen goods target selection and disposal. Throughout this same time period, stealing and domestic burglary rates in Australia have steadily declined. This paper examines the DUMA data with these high-level acquisitive crime trends in mind. Survey findings point to offenders having shifted away from stealing increasingly devalued electronic consumer goods for resale purposes, and toward stealing increasingly expensive food and clothing for personal consumption. This is consistent with what would be expected according to Consumer Price Index data, the opportunity-based CRAVED framework, and offender domain expertise. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed.

Unemployment and Crime in US Cities During the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Unemployment and violence both increased during the coronavirus pandemic in the United States (US), but no studies to our knowledge have examined their association. Using data for 16 US cities from January 2018 to July 2020, we estimated the association between acute changes in unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic and violent and acquisitive crime. We used negative binomial regression models and parametric g-computation to estimate average differences in crime incidents if the highest and lowest levels of unemployment observed in each city had been sustained across the exposure period (March–July 2020), compared with observed unemployment in each city-month. During the pandemic, the percentage of the adult population who were unemployed was 8.1 percentage points higher than expected, on average. Increases in unemployment were associated with increases in firearm violence and homicide. For example, we estimated an average increase of 3.3 firearm violence incidents (95% CI: − 0.2, 6.7) and 2.0 homicides (95% CI: − 0.2, 3.9) per city-month from March to July 2020 if all cities experienced their highest versus observed level of unemployment. There was no association between unemployment and aggravated assault or any acquisitive crime. Findings suggest that the sharp rise in unemployment during the pandemic may have contributed to increases in firearm violence and homicide, but not other crime. Additional research is needed on mechanisms of association, generalizability, and modifying factors.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11524-021-00605-3.

Classical deterrence theory revisited: An empirical analysis of Police Force Areas in England and Wales

The severity, certainty and celerity (swiftness) of punishment are theorised to influence offending through deterrence. Yet celerity is rarely included in empirical studies of criminal activity and the three deterrence factors have never been analysed in one empirical model. We address this gap with an analysis using unique panel data of recorded theft, burglary and violence against the person for 41 Police Force Areas in England and Wales using variables that capture these three theorised factors of deterrence. We find that the three factors affect crime in different ways. Increased detection by the police (certainty) is associated with reduced theft and burglary but not violence. We find that variation in the celerity of sanction has a significant impact on theft offences but not on burglary or violence offences. Increased average prison sentences (severity) reduce burglary only. We account for these results in terms of data challenges and the likely different motivations underlying violent and acquisitive crime.

Magnitude of medicolegal issues among people who inject drugs in New Delhi: A cross-sectional study

Besides posing a significant health burden, people who inject drugs (PWID) are also implicated in violence, acquisitive crimes, accidents, and suicides. This cross-sectional, observational study was conducted from November 2016 to March 2018 at a tertiary care centre of New Delhi.The data on medicolegal issues and their characteristics were collected through an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire from PWID receiving opioid substitution therapy (OST), and statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Out of 100 male PWID, nearly half of PWID (n=48, 48%) were involved in criminal activities. Among the population of PWID with criminal activities, acquisitive crimes were the most common (n=37, 37%) type of crime committed. About 29 (29%) PWID revealed suicidal ideations, 12 (12%) attempted suicides, and about one in five (n=21, 21%) PWID had nonsuicidal self-injuries (NSSI) in the preceding year. A statistically significant association was observed between the history of injecting drug use in the preceding three months with the criminal activities of the user (%2=3.853; p=.050). Acquisitive crimes were significantly associated with homelessness (x2=5.884; p=.015). The evidence from the present study suggests that acquisitive crimes, suicidal ideations, and self-harm are highly prevalent among PWID. Efforts should be focused on strict adherence to OST with effective psychiatric counselling, family therapy, and social assistance programs to mitigate PWID's medicolegal issues at large.

Specific Features of Protection Against Computer-Aided Criminal Infringements on Cashless (Electronic) Funds in Contemporary Criminal Legislations of Belarus and Russia

The dominance of a distance form of interactions in modern conditions resulted in an increase in operations with cashless (electronic) funds, which led to a growth of the number of acquisitive cybercrimes. The author examines criminal law measures of protecting cashless (electronic) funds against criminal infringements in the cybersphere and conducts legal analysis of regulations on acquisitive crimes against property and information security reflected in criminal legislations of Belarus and Russia. Special attention is paid to the characteristic features of protection measures against acquisitive cybercrimes involving cashless (electronic) funds in modern criminal legislations of Belarus and Russia. Current Belarus legislation differentiates criminal liability using unified criteria (method and property size) within the same corpus delicti of three crimes in Ch. 24 and 31 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. In the Russian legislation, the differentiation of criminal liability is based on three criteria (size, type of money or method) within five corpora delicti in Ch. 21 and 28 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The author specifically states that the use of such a differentiation approach in determining liability for online theft of cashless money in the norms of Russian criminal law leads, firstly, to considerable difficulties in determining the forms and specific criteria of such theft and, secondly, to the application of more (or less) severe measures of punishment for identical crimes. Using a detailed comparative analysis of modern criminal legislations of Belarus and Russia regarding online criminal infringements against cashless (electronic) money, the author draws a conclusion on the use of regulations in the Russian law that would make it possible to fully take into account various specific features of online infringements on cashless (electronic) money and to apply unified criteria for the differentiation of criminal liability within one corpus delicti, for example, in the form of theft in the sphere of computer information whose modus operandi is thoroughly described in one of the norms on computer crimes in Art. 159.6 of the Criminal Code of Russia.

Measuring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on crime in a medium-sized city in China.

ObjectivesThe study examines the variation in the daily incidence of eight acquisitive crimes: automobile theft, electromobile theft, motorcycle theft, bicycle theft, theft from automobiles, pickpocketing, residential burglary, and cyber-fraud before the lockdown and the duration of the lockdown for a medium-sized city in China.MethodsRegression discontinuity in time (RDiT) models are used to test the effect of the lockdown measures on crime by examining the daily variation of raw counts and rate.ResultsIt is indicated that in contrast to numerous violent crime categories such as domestic violence where findings have repeatedly found increases during the COVID-19 pandemic, acquisitive crimes in this city were reduced during the lockdown period for all categories, while “cyber-fraud” was found more resilient in the sense that its decrease was not as salient as for most other crime types, possibly due to people’s use of the internet during the lockdown period.ConclusionsThe findings provide further support to opportunity theories of crime that are contingent upon the need for a motivated offender to identify a suitable target in physical space.