Examination of systematic variations in burglars' domain-specific perceptual and procedural skills

Abstract

This research examines systematic variations in residential burglars' domain-specific perceptual and procedural skills. Utilising a formula incorporating frequency of offending, generation of offending-related income, burglary charges, and estimated duration of burglary career, 53 experts and 53 novices were objectively identified from a sample of 209 interviews conducted with incarcerated burglars. The perceptual and procedural burglary skills of these two groups were compared and the results demonstrated important differences indicative of superior domain-specific performance for objectively classified experts. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed, along with suggestions for application of this knowledge to crime prevention initiatives.     

Evaluation of operation swordfish: a near-repeat target-hardening strategy

Objectives

This paper reports an evaluation of a police-led target-hardening crime prevention strategy inspired by research concerned with space–time patterns of burglary.

Methods

A total of 46 neighbourhoods in the West Midlands (UK) were randomly allocated to treatment and control conditions. Within treatment areas, resources were delivered to recent burglary victims and their close neighbours. Resources included inexpensive target-hardening measures as well as the delivery of dedicated police advice. The evaluation consisted of both a resident survey and a statistical outcome analysis.

Results

Results suggested that residents in treatment groups were slightly more satisfied with the police and more likely to have been contacted by the police concerning burglaries. Although they had more awareness of burglary, their fear of crime was not heightened. Statistical analysis suggested a very modest positive effect of intervention on crime and rates of re-victimisation. In particular, a survival analysis revealed that homes in low-crime treatment areas were less likely to be re-victimised than were those in similar control areas. Effects were more evident in low- than high-crime areas.

Conclusions

Results suggest that a low-intensity target-hardening intervention which adopted a near-repeat victimisation targeting strategy had a modest positive effect on residential burglary without increasing residents’ fear of crime.

     

The Burglary Boost: A Note on Detecting Contagion Using the Knox Test

Objectives

A large body of literature in quantitative criminology finds that the spatio-temporal clustering of burglary is greater than one would expect from chance alone. This suggests that such crimes may exhibit a “boost” effect, wherein each burglary increases the risk to nearby locations for a short period. In this study, we demonstrate that standard tests for spatio-temporal dependence have difficulty distinguishing between clustering caused by contagion and that caused by changing relative risks. Therefore, any estimates of the boost effect drawn from these tests alone will be upwardly biased.

Methods

We construct an agent-based model to generate simulated burglary data, and explore whether the Knox test can reliably distinguish between contagion (one burglary increases the likelihood of another burglary nearby) and changes in risk (one area gets safer while another gets more dangerous). Incorporating insights from this exercise, we analyze a decade of data on burglary events from Washington, DC.

Results

We find that (1) absent contagion, exogenous changes in relative risk can be sufficient to produce statistically significant Knox ratios, (2) if risk is changing over time, estimated Knox ratios are sensitive to one’s choice of time window, and (3) Knox ratios estimated from Washington, DC burglary data are sensitive to one’s choice of time window, suggesting that long-run changes in relative risk are, in part, driving empirical estimates of burglary’s boost effect.

Conclusions

Researchers testing for contagion in empirical time series should take precautions to distinguish true contagion from exogenous changes in relative risks. Adjusting the time window of analysis is a useful robustness check, and future studies should be supplemented with new approaches like agent-based modeling or spatial econometric methods.

     

Guardianship and residential burglary

Guardianship is a key element in the routine activities approach to understanding crime. This paper examines the effects of guardianship on residential burglary. Several features distinguish these analyses from prior work: 1) both primary and proxy guardianship are included: 2) a more direct indicator of primary guardianship is used; and 3) the effects of guardianship on both the initial risk of burglary and the probability that the crime will be completed are examined. The findings suggest that the effects of guardianship on residential burglary may have been underestimated in prior research. The analyses also show that a complete understanding of the effects of guardianship—especially proxy guardianship—on the entire burglary process will require simultaneous consideration of victimization and offending perspectives.     

Another look at across-crime similarity coefficients for use in behavioural linkage analysis: an attempt to replicate Woodhams,Grant, and Price (2007)

Abstract

In the absence of physical evidence, investigators must often rely on offence behaviours when determining whether several crimes are linked to a common offender. A variety of factors can potentially influence the degree to which accurate linking is possible, including the similarity coefficient used to assess across-crime similarity. The current study examines the performance of two similarity coefficients that have recently been compared to one another, Jaccard's coefficient (J) and the taxonomic similarity index (Δ_s), using samples of two crime types, serial homicide (N=237) and serial burglary (N=210). In contrast to previous research, the results indicate that Δ_s does not significantly outperform J with respect to linking accuracy. In addition, both coefficients lead to higher levels of linking accuracy in cases of serial homicide compared to serial burglary. Potential explanations for these findings are presented and their implications are discussed.     

The role of economic and psychological variables in parking violations

Abstract

This study explored some of the factors involved in parking violations, using as a framework the model of tax evasion developed by Weigel, et al. (1987). Two groups of parkers were observed, offenders (N = 121) and non-offenders (N =128). Two questionnaires were employed. An initial questionnaire was used at the time of the observed behaviour to ascertain situation-specific factors followed by the main questionnaire which measured attitudes, moral beliefs, social norms and controls, perceived risk and severity of punishment and personal characteristics. Results revealed that the Weigel et al. model was a good predictor of parking violation with both economic and psychological factors being important determinants. There was also a significant correlation between observed and self-reported behaviour. Implications for understanding rule-breaking behaviour in general are also discussed.     

Racial segregation and property crime: Examining the mediating effect of police strength

Research has not yet considered the relationship between property crime and segregation and the influence of police strength on the association of segregation and crime. To address these issues, this article examines the association of racial segregation with burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft for 1990. The results reveal that segregation is significantly and positively associated with all three measures of property crime. When data on police strength are introduced into the models, segregation-crime coefficients are significantly attenuated, and two are rendered nonsignificant, providing evidence that the segregation-property crime association is at least partly mediated through police strength.     

An exploration of burglary in the criminal histories of sex offenders referred for civil commitment

Commission of nonsexual crimes generally antedates officially recorded sexual offenses. In particular, burglary has been hypothesized to be a potential ‘stepping stone’ in the development of one's sexual criminal career in the same way that marijuana has often been considered a ‘gateway drug’ to more serious drug-related offenses. The present study examined the officially recorded criminal histories of 828 male sex offenders to determine the relevance of burglary in their criminal histories. One third of the men in the sample (n=281, 34%) had been charged at least once for burglary. These 281 men committed a total of 762 separate incidents of burglary. Offenders with at least one officially recorded charge for burglary (BSOs) were compared with those with no such charges (SOs). Next, the characteristics of each burglary were examined and four distinct types of burglary were identified: nonsexual, covertly sexual, overtly sexual, and combination burglary/rape. BSOs accrued twice as many charges as the SOs and were significantly more likely to have an earlier age of onset, a longer criminal career, more employment problems, elementary school problems, antisocial behavior, and substance abuse.     

Victim empathy in young sex offenders in the emergent adulthood developmental phase

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a study which focused on young sex offenders’ empathy levels for sexual abuse victims in general as portrayed in a case study, as well as empathy for the offenders’ own specific victims. Beckett and Fisher’s Victim Empathy Distortion Scale (1994) was used to measure and compare 96 young sex offenders’ empathy levels. The quantitative research results indicated that research participants displayed significantly less empathy towards their own victims when compared to the empathy displayed towards a general sexual abuse victim in a case study. Following the completion of the questionnaires, in-depth, qualitative data was obtained regarding the young sex offenders’ thoughts prior to, during and directly after committing the offence. In addition, they also explained their current thoughts and feelings for the victims in their case. The divergent responses which were given by the participants is a clear indication of the heterogeneous nature of youth sex offending.     

A longitudinal analysis of the arrest-crime relationship: A further examination of the tipping effect

This study examines the contextual effect of arrest clearance rates, over time, on the arrest-crime relationship. The bivariate autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) analyses of monthly crime and arrest data for seven Pennsylvania cities for robbery, burglary, larceny, and auto theft suggest that the deterrent effect of arrests on crime is probably limited to smaller cities whose police department are able to clear an appreciable proportion of crimes over time, through arrests.     

Personality Disorder Symptoms in Women as a Result of Chronic Intimate Male Partner Violence

This study explores the personality disorder symptoms of women victims of intimate male partner violence (IPV), after controlling for the contribution of experiences of childhood abuse. Victims of both physical and psychological violence (n = 73) or psychological violence alone (n = 53) were compared with non-abused control women (n = 52). Information about sociodemographic characteristics, childhood abuse, and personality characteristics (MCMI-II) was obtained through face-to-face structured interviews. Women victims of IPV had higher scores than controls in schizoid, avoidant, self-defeating personality scales, as well as in the three pathological personality scales (schizotypal, borderline and paranoid). Both physical and psychological IPV were strongly associated with personality disorder symptomatology, regardless of the effects of childhood abuse. These findings underscore the need to screen for personality disorder symptoms in women victims of IPV when dealing with therapeutic interventions.     

Space–Time Patterns of Risk: A Cross National Assessment of Residential Burglary Victimization

Using epidemiological techniques for testing disease contagion, it has recently been found that in the wake of a residential burglary, the risk to nearby homes is temporarily elevated. This paper demonstrates the ubiquity of this phenomenon by analyzing space–time patterns of burglary in 10 areas, located in five different countries. While the precise patterns vary, for all areas, houses within 200 m of a burgled home were at an elevated risk of burglary for a period of at least two weeks. For three of the five countries, differences in these patterns may partly be explained by simple differences in target density. The findings inform theories of crime concentration and offender targeting strategies, and have implications for crime forecasting and crime reduction more generally.

A woman's place is in the home: Females and residential burglary

Little is known about the nature of women's participation in residential burglary, an offense statistically dominated by males. This paper examines women's involvement in residential burglary by comparing the characteristics of female burglars to those of their male counterparts and by outlining a typology of female burglars which emphasizes their roles during offenses. In some respects, female and male burglars do not appear to differ significantly. Nevertheless, the results suggest that important differences also may exist. Most important, the findings demonstrate that women's involvement in residential burglary, like men's, is marked by diversity. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Trauma Symptoms of Former Intimate Stalking Victims

Abstract

One-hundred-eighty-seven female victims stalked by former intimate partners were interviewed about their victimization experiences. To identify psychological symptoms experienced by the victims, Briere and Runtz's (1989) Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC-33) was utilized in the interview. Individual items were combined to form five distinct scales as developed and validated by Briere and Runtz (1989). Findings reveal that the highest mean scores for the sample were on the items included in the Sleep Disturbance scale. In addition, overall TSC-33 scores and the Dissociation, Anxiety, Depression, and Post-Sexual Assault Trauma-hypothesized (PSAT-h) scale scores varied by whether or not victims had experienced violence during their former relationship with the stalker and by whether or not violence occurred during the stalking. The absence or presence of verbal threats of violence during the stalking, however, did not have an independent effect on most emotional symptoms when controlling for violence during stalking.     

The development of a filter model for prioritising suspects in burglary offences

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a filter model for prioritizing possible links in dwelling burglary. The filters utilize the central aspects of crime scene information that is available and accessible to investigators in burglary, namely geo-spatial, temporal, behavioural, and dwelling information. The proposed filters were analysed using a sample of 215 dwelling burglaries committed by 43 serial burglars (i.e. 5 offences each) in order to determine the sequence in which the filters should be considered in prioritizing possible linked offences. The results indicated that the following order (i.e. better performance to worse performance) was most effective at linking offences, utilizing: (1) geo-spatial information, (2) temporal aspects, (3) behavioural information and, lastly, (4) dwelling characteristics. Specifically, the results indicated that offences in close proximity to one another should be given priority. Further, any offence occurring within a 28-day span before or after the index offence should be given priority. The paper argues that behavioural and dwelling characteristics are less effective for linking than geo-spatial and temporal information because the former two aspects are influenced significantly by situational and contextual cues on offender decision-making.     

Sequential angulation,spatial dispersion and consistency of distance attack patterns from home in serial murder,rape and burglary

Abstract

Three related measures of spatial movement (sequential angulation, spatial dispersion and consistency of distance in attack target) were compared across three serial offence types: serial homicide (n=35), serial rape (n=41) and serial burglary (n=30). In each case, each offender had committed at least five offences. “Spatial dispersion”, defined as the extent to which an offender distributes his offences across either a focused or relatively more evenly distributed area, revealed that burglary was less evenly distributed (i.e. more focused) than rape and murder. “Sequential angulation”, defined as the degree of rotational movement around the home of the offender from one offence to the next, revealed that serial murderers have higher angulation scores than do rapists who, in turn, have higher angulation scores than burglars. Lastly, a comparison of the offender's consistency in the relative distance travelled from home to each attack site (“consistency of distance in attack target”) was relatively similar across the three groups. This was despite the comparison of different serial offence types from disparate geographical areas. The supposition that differences in dispersion and sequential angulation scores across crime types are related to the perceived risk of the crime has been confirmed. The specificity and the mobility of the targets are also discussed.     

Short-term effects of restorative justice conferences on post-traumatic stress symptoms among robbery and burglary victims: a randomized controlled trial

Objectives

To examine the impact of face-to-face restorative justice conference (RJC) meetings led by police officers between crime victims and their offenders on victims’ post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Methods

Two trials conducted in London randomly assigned burglary or robbery cases with consenting victims and offenders to either a face-to-face restorative justice conference (RJC) in addition to conventional justice treatment or conventional treatment without a RJC. Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) were measured with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) within 1 month of treatment for 192 victims. We assessed the prevalence and severity of PTSS scores following treatment, using independent sample t tests and chi square statistics. We further measured the magnitude of the differences between the groups, using effect size analyses.

Results

Analyses show that PTSS scores are significantly lower among victims assigned to RJC in addition to criminal justice processing through the courts than to customary criminal justice processing alone. There are overall 49 % fewer victims with clinical levels of PTSS, and possible PTSD (IES-R?≥?25). Main treatment effects are significant (t?=?2.069; p?Conclusions Findings suggest that restorative justice conferences reduce clinical levels of PTSS and possibly PTSD in a short-term follow-up assessment. Future research should include longer follow-up, larger and more stratified samples, and financial data to account for the cost benefit implications of RJ conferences compared to ordinary PTSS treatments.     

Female victims of child sexual abuse: Adult adjustment

A questionnaire administered to a University sample of 245 female victims of sexual child abuse and 750 nonvictims attempted to determine whether abuse is related to poor adult social and psychological adjustment. The instrument consisted of three outcome measures of adjustment, variables directly related to abuse, perceived satisfaction with early family life, and demographic data. Only one of the outcome measures — the Texas Social Behavior Inventory — yielded a statistically significant difference between the samples. There was a steady, significant and progressive increase in maladjustment between the nonabused, the nonincestuously abused and the incest victims. When controls were applied for levels of satisfaction with early family life, differences between the abused and nonabused samples disappeared. Those abused as children who reported good treatment by parents exhibited no ill effects as adults on the TSBI.     

Victims’ motivations for reporting to the ‘fraud justice network’

ABSTRACT

It is well-established that (online) fraud has one of the lowest reporting rates across all crime categories. However, there is a large gap examining why some victims choose to report online fraud offenses. Therefore, this paper examines the under-researched group of online fraud victims who reported their crimes to authorities. Based on interviews with 80 victims across Australia, who lost at least AUD10,000 to online fraud, this paper demonstrates two motivations behind reporting: a sense of individual justice, and an altruistic notion of protecting others. The paper also highlights the negativity associated with the reporting process. The paper uses these findings to determine what can be learnt from the victims who were willing to report. It concludes with a discussion of the challenges evident in seeking to improve the confidence of victims reporting to authorities.     

Is cyberstalking different?

Abstract

Very little empirical work exists on cyberstalking. The current study analysed detailed questionnaires completed by 1051 self-defined stalking victims. Almost half (47.5%) reported harassment via the Internet, but only 7.2% of the sample was judged to have been cyberstalked. Ordinal regression analyses of four groups of victims, categorized according to degree of cyber involvement in their victimization, revealed a general picture of similarity between the groups in terms of the stalking process, responses to being stalked, and the effects on victims and third parties. It was concluded that cyberstalking does not fundamentally differ from traditional, proximal stalking, that online harassment does not necessarily hold broad appeal to stalkers, and that those who target ex-intimates remain the most populous stalker type.