Handling Stolen Goods: A Market Reduction Approach
| Date | 01 June 1998 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059804500211 |
| Published date | 01 June 1998 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
103
RESEARCH
Handling
Stolen
Goods:
A
Market
Reduction
Approach
Sentencers
and
probation
officers
alike
have
long
assumed
that
without
handlers
of
stolen
goods
there
would
be
far
lower
levels
of
acquisitive
crime,
hence
the
harsher
penalties
meted
out
to
handlers.
This
fascinating
study
lends
strong
support
to
this
approach,
finding
that
the
existence
of
a
thriving
market
in
stolen
goods
strongly
influences
the
decision
to
begin
and
then
to
continue
stealing.
The
results
are
based
on
information
obtained
from
the
British
Crime
Survey,
with
a
total
sample
of
8,753
respondents,
and
in-depth
interviews
with
45
known
thieves
and
other
handlers
of
stolen
goods.
Main
findings:
Extent
Of
The
Problem -
Eleven
percent
of
respondents
admitted
buying
stolen
goods
in
the
past
five
years,
while
a
striking
70%
thought
that
some
of
their
neighbours
had
stolen
goods
in their
homes.
Almost
half
of
all
men
aged
16-24
said
they
had
been
offered
or
bought
stolen
goods,
and
being
young,
male
and
relatively
poor
was
significantly
correlated
with
a
tendency
to
buy
stolen
goods.
If
the
’head’
of
the
household
was
self-employed,
there
was
a
significantly
greater
likelihood
of
respondents
saying
they
had
bought
stolen
goods,
a
finding
supported
by
the
in-depth
interviews
which
showed
that
small
business
owners
are
likely
to
be
targeted
by
thieves
with
stolen
goods
to
sell.
Supply
And
Demand -
The demand
for
state-of-the-art
electrical
equipment
means
that
it
is
often
targeted
by
thieves.
They
tend
to
be
encouraged
by
efficient
fences
to
increase
their
offending,
and
prolific
offenders,
drug
users
in
particular,
are
likely
to
work
hard
to
find
new
buyers,
thus
overcoming
fluctuations
in
their
local
stolen
goods
markets.
Drug
users
were
also
more
likely
to
take
risks
and
accept
lower
prices
for
stolen
goods.
Thieves
reported
that
they
knew
of
very
few
fences
being
caught,
but
where
this
had
happened
it
was
a
significant
deterrent
to
their
offending,
suggesting
that
greater
attempts
to
arrest
fences
would
be
an
effective
way
to
tackle
property
crime.
Crime
Prevention -
Car
stereo
thieves
were
rarely
deterred
from
breaking
into
vehicles
simply
because
the
stereo
was
not
in
view.
They
assumed,
often
correctly,
that
owners
had
left
it
under
the
seat,
in
the
glove
box
or
in
the
luggage
compartment.
Nor
did
property
marking
deter
the
theft
or
purchase
of
marked
items;
interviewees
commented
on
the
ease
with
which
they
were
able
to
remove,
or
pay
someone
to
remove
for
them,
even
the
toughest
markings.
The
use
of
taxis
is
widespread
amongst
burglars,
as
is
the
use
of
black
bin
bags
and
sheets
or
pillow
cases
to
conceal
and
transport
stolen
goods.
One
technique
used
by
all
of
the
burglars
was
that
of
’sounding
the
drum’,
ringing
a
potential
victim’s
door
bell
to
establish
if
the
property
is
empty
and
making
up
some
excuse
if
the
door
is
answered.
Encouraging
people
to
immediately
call
the
police
if
they
see
or
encounter
anyone
acting
suspiciously
might
be
a
highly
effective
method
of
deterring
and
catching
burglars.
A
particularly
impressive
aspect
of
the
market
reduction
strategy
advocated
in
this
study
is
its
’whole
picture’
approach.
This
proposes
not
only
situational
crime
prevention -
for
example,
by
increasing
controls
on
transactions
or
deeply
engraving
electrical
goods
with
the
words
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