Linking Burglary and Target Hardening at the Property Level: New Insights Into Victimization and Burglary Protection

• NCJ Number: 231706
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 21 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2010 Pages: 319-337
• Author(s): Alex Hirschfield; Andrew Newton; Michelle Rogerson
• Date Published: September 2010
• Length: 19 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Special issue on Situational Crime Prevention: Policy & Research. For addtional articles see NCJ-231704-705 and NCJ-231707-708.

Annotation

This article focuses on the analyses that can be conducted and new insights that can be gained when information on domestic burglary and target-hardening activity is linked at the level of the individual property.

Abstract

This article draws on a recent study that examined the impact of target hardening on domestic burglary in the City of Liverpool, England, between July 2005 and December 2007. Individual property-level data, from a range of sources, were collated for each residential property in the City enabling details about burglaries (timing, location, modus operandi) to be linked to data on the nature, timing, and location of target-hardening activity. Properties were grouped according to the presence or absence of burglary and/or target hardening at each address and the sequence of events. Groups included properties burgled, target hardened, and not subsequently burgled; no prior burglary, target hardened, subsequent burglary; burgled, never target hardened, and other combinations.The results suggest that property-level data give a richer picture of the relationship between burglary and target hardening than is possible using aggregate data at an area level. Tables, figures, notes, and references (Published Abstract)