U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

BUILDING SECURITY CODES - A CRIME DETERRENT?

NCJ Number
68115
Author(s)
ANON
Date Published
Unknown
Length
50 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT ANALYZES WHETHER AN ENFORCED BUILDING CODE HAD AN EFFECT ON DELAYED AN INTRUDER SO THAT THE OFFENSE STUDIED MAY NOT HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT.
Abstract
THE REPORT DISCUSSES BOTH A FLORIDA STATEWIDE STUDY AND A MIAMI STUDY. RESEARCHERS COLLECTED DATA FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS ON 305 CASES WHICH OCCURRED IN A DWELLING: 179 FORCED ENTRIES, 96 UNFORCED FILMS. THE FORMER CONTAINS THE BULK OF THE LISTINGS. THE UNREPORTED. THEY EXAMINED MURDER, RAPE, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, AND BREAKING AND ENTERING OF A DWELLING. DATA WAS COLLECTED ON THE 275 CASES FOR THE SAME 4 OFFENSES OCCURRING IN A DWELLING IN MIAMI DURING THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 1979. THERE WERE 167 FORCED ENTRIES, 82 UNFORCED ENTRIES, AND 26 FOR WHICH THE TYPE OF ENTRY WAS UNREPORTED. STATEWIDE, ONE-THIRD OF THE CRIMES COULD POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY A BUILDING SECURITY CODE AND 40 PERCENT PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. FOR BREAKING AND ENTERING CASES, 56 PERCENT MAY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. ONLY 14 PERCENT OF THE OTHER 3 TYPES OF CRIMES MAY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. MOST MURDER AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULT OFFENDERS RESIDED WITH, OR WERE GUESTS OF, THE VICTIM. MOST CRIMES OCCURRED IN A HOUSE, AND A GOOD PERCENTAGE WERE IN AN APARTMENT. FOR MIAMI, 45 PERCENT OF THE STUDIED CASES COULD POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED AND 37 PERCENT PROBABLY COULD NOT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. FOR BREAKING AND ENTERING, 62 PERCENT MAY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED, WHILE ONLY 13 PERCENT OF THE OTHER 3 CRIMES MAY HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY A BUILDING SECURITY CODE. THE REPORT CONCLUDES THAT A BUILDING SECURITY COULD HAVE HAD SOME IMPACT ON THE REDUCTION OF THESE OFFENSES. FINDINGS WERE SIMILAR IN THE TWO STUDIES. CHARTS, TABLES, FOOTNOTES, AND REPORTING FORMS ARE INCLUDED. (JLF)