NCJ Number
81439
Date Published
1978
Length
95 pages
Annotation
This report describes, through use of the 1974 national victimization survey data, various aspects of burglary victimization ranging from characteristics of victimized households to characteristics of the offense and its consequences.
Abstract
Households facing the greatest risk of victimization were headed by predominantly black and young persons and those who rented their residences. Households headed by black/other individuals were victims of forcible entries far more than were households headed by white individuals perhaps because black persons are often limited in their choices of urban neighborhoods to specific areas which are generally high crime areas. They face a greater fear of the threat of burglary. The more frequent victimizations of households headed by young people may be due to differences in lifestyles in that burglaries experienced by such households were accomplished without forcible entry. Over 75 percent of the victimizations for which the amount of loss was known resulted in losses of less than $250. Of all those suffering losses, almost one-third recovered at least some portion of the loss through either police efforts or insurance company reimbursements. Households covered by theft insurance were more likely to be white, own their dwellings, and be in higher income brackets than those not covered by insurance. Over half of the victimizations reported to the interviewers in the national sample were not reported to the police. The report concludes that efforts to decrease burglary victimizations should be directed toward high risk households: blacks and members of other nonwhite races, the young, and renters. A total of 28 tables, 8 notes, and 13 references are provided. The National Crime Survey questionnaire is appended.