NCJ Number
114609
Date Published
1989
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Data from 144 court cases involving 318 fences whose operations were shut down in the Netherlands during 1984 and 1985 formed the basis of an analysis of fences and fencing cases with emphasis on age, sex, nationality, and social status of the fences and the outcomes of their cases.
Abstract
Study data came from court reports; conversations with fences, thieves, police officers, insurance personnel, shopkeepers, bartenders, pawnbrokers, and auctioneers; and personal observations. Results revealed that 285 fences were male and 29 were female, and their average age was 33. Men became fences for economic reasons, whereas the women usually became involved because of family relationships with their suppliers. Seventy-six percent were Dutch, 8 percent Surinamer, 8 percent Turkish, 4 percent North African, 3 percent European, and 1 percent Asian. Thirteen fences were under age 19, 43 were drug addicts, 78 were on welfare, 26 were on disability, 68 were employed, and 82 were self-employed. The interviews revealed that professional receivers of stolen goods with large operations are seldom caught and that only small, well-known operators who also commit other crimes are imprisoned. Police efforts to stop fences receive low priority, and controlling fencing is unlikely to reduce thefts or robberies.