NCJ Number
226162
Journal
European Journal of Criminology Volume: 5 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 411-431
Date Published
October 2008
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Using data on solved residential burglaries during 1996-2004 in The Hague and its environs (The Netherlands), this study tested the finding of previous research that initial and subsequent burglaries of the same and nearby properties often involve the same offenders.
Abstract
The findings show that pairs of detected burglaries which occur in close proximity in space and time are much more likely to involve the same offenders than pairs of burglaries that are not linked by space and time of commission, based on police data in which the offenders are known to police. The study advises, however, that there may be a selective bias in the data. This concerns the possibility that pairs of repeat victimization of the same and burglaries of nearby properties are more likely to be solved by police. When police have knowledge of the involvement of an offender in one crime, they will generally pursue the possibility that this person has been involved previously in similar crimes linked by space and time. A common investigative technique is for police to obtain a confession for previous crimes by explaining to the offender that if he/she would admit to involvement in other burglaries, this could decrease the severity of the sanction. This factor suggests that the study results may overestimate the involvement of the same offenders in repeat burglaries of the same property or nearby properties. Alternative methods for assessing the amount of same-offender involvement in such burglaries are discussed. This study examined 3,624 solved cases of attempted or completed residential burglary recorded by the police from 1996 through 2004. These burglaries involved 2,516 known offenders. 4 tables and 36 references