NCJ Number
208796
Journal
Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: 2005 Pages: 31-42
Date Published
2005
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Based on a 2003 telephone survey of 3,403 adults aged 60 and over across England, Wales, and Scotland, this study examined the extent to which older people are victimized by "distraction burglary."
Abstract
In April 2003, the British Home Office established a new "distraction burglary" subclassification code under the classification "burglary in a dwelling." "Distraction burglary" is defined as "any crime where a falsehood, trick, or distraction is used on an occupant of a dwelling to gain, or try to gain, access to the premises to commit burglary." The offender often assumes the identify of an official (utility personnel), worker (gardener), or someone in need of help. Data on this type of burglary indicate that most are committed by organized criminals who trade information on victims and work in teams. In the survey reported in this article, 3.3 percent of respondents indicated they had been a target of a potential distraction burglary in the previous year, with 1.1 percent reporting the theft of property by this means. Extrapolation of these data suggests that there are approximately 400,000 distraction burglary attempts against the elderly each year and 130,000 successful distraction burglaries. This article offers suggestions for raising the awareness of distraction burglary and its prevention among the elderly. 2 tables, 1 figure, 23 references, and appended survey questions