Searching a Dwelling: Deterrence and the Undeterred Residential Burglar (From Contemporary Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice: Essays in Honor of Gilbert Geis, P 407-418, 2001, Henry N. Pontell and David Shichor, eds. -- See NCJ-193102)

• NCJ Number: 193121
• Author(s): Richard Wright
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice Hall Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This essay uses interview data to examine the mindset of residential burglars, so as to determine the decision-making dynamics involved in such criminal activity and what might best deter it.

Abstract

Based on the efforts of a field-based informant, the study located and interviewed 105 currently active residential burglars in St. Louis, MO. Reporting on a small portion of the interviews, this report focused on how the subjects searched dwellings once they had broken into them. Once inside a target, the first concern of most offenders is to reassure themselves that no one is at home. Some run through the dwelling and take a quick glance into every room. Others remain still and silent, listening for any sound of movement. Once assuring themselves they are alone in the residence, the offenders experience exultation in the belief that everything in the residence is theirs for the taking. Still, they remain cognizant of risks, and they aim to make their search for and theft of property as quick and efficient as possible. Virtually all the burglars reported having a proven method of searching residences for the purpose of producing the maximum yield in cash and goods per unit of time invested. Most begin with the master bedroom, where they expect to find cash, jewelry, and guns. These items are prized because they are light, easy to conceal, and have excellent pound-for-pound value. Places they search in the master bedroom are the dresser, the bedside table, the bed itself, and the closet. Some leave the house after the search of the bedroom. Some attention is given to the kitchen, where the burglars say people hide cash and jewelry, perhaps in a cookie jar or in the refrigerator/freezer. Most burglars search the living room last, because the items there tend to be heavy or bulky. By focusing on cash and small valuables, burglars can usually locate enough "loot" to meet their immediate needs in a matter of minutes. Knowledge of this emphasis on the importance of a quick search based on typical locations for cash and small valuables provides information useful to reducing the amount of the losses sustained by burglary victims. 6 notes