NCJ Number
87334
Date Published
1982
Length
52 pages
Annotation
Burglarized homes in Kent, England, are distinguished from other households not so much by security precautions homeowners take but by surveillance and access opportunities, occupancy levels, and potential reward.
Abstract
Not only do poor surveillance and an empty house mean that burglars can approach without being seen but, because the burglars are unobserved, they may have sufficient opportunity to deal with security hardware which might otherwise have deterred them from entering. Thus, isolated homes may have greater security hardware requirements. Burglary prevention policies should adopt a broader perspective than simple target hardening; different approaches may be required for different types of housing and areas. Local police forces should carefully map the incidence of burglary in their area so that appropriate efforts can be directed toward burglary-prone localities. Burglary squads for isolated and affluent homes may prove productive. Overall, complete security protection is more important than the piecemeal installation of door and window locks; local involvement is more cost-effective and less alarming to citizens than a national or community-based blanket approach to burglary prevention. The study conducted interviews and site surveys in a Kent community typical of other commuter areas in the country with high burglary rates. Appendixes include burglary patterns and risk rates in Kent, study methods, and more than 40 references.