A Structured Portfolio Analysing the Crime of Burglary
| Author | Joseph Lowenstein |
| DOI | 10.1350/pojo.2006.79.3.214 |
| Date | 01 September 2006 |
| Published date | 01 September 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
JOSEPH LOWENSTEIN
A STRUCTURED PORTFOLIO
ANALYSING THE CRIME OF
BURGLARY
Burglary is a high-volume crime, affecting around one in
twenty-five households annually. In 1998 the Home Office
launched a major crime reduction programme in England and
Wales with a key element focussing on the reduction of
burglary. It was hoped that this would discover the key
element in reducing domestic burglary. So far, however,
research has failed to determine the reasons for beginning and
pursuing a career in burglary. This article attempt to provide a
portfolio of the potential factors that could cause an individual
to turn to property crime. It is important to look at these factors
not as individual elements but as a framework of potential risk.
A framework designed by Clarke (1977) is used to do this.
Introduction
In England and Wales, burglary is defined and dealt with in the
Theft Act 1968 under s. 9 (see Appendix). It can be defined as an
incident in which an individual has entered a dwelling or
property as a trespasser with the intention of committing theft,
grievous bodily harm or unlawful damage. The specifications of
a ‘property’ are diverse and can include domestic dwellings,
inhabited vehicles or vessels, and multi-occupancy dwellings
such as flats, hotels or student blocks. A burglary does not always
involve a forced entry; it may be through an open window or
involve the use of false pretences and it does not necessarily
involve the theft, or attempted theft, of property. To be classified
as burglary with entry the individual must have entered the
property, but need not have carried out his or her intention.
According to the Home Office crime statistics for burglary in
England and Wales between April 2003 and March 2004 the
total number of offences was 818,597, meaning that 3.9 bur-
glaries occurred per 1,000 of the England and Wales population.
It appears, however, that these rates have been dropping recently,
with figures from 2004/5 indicating that domestic burglary has
fallen by around 20% and the risk of being a victim of domestic
burglary has halved since 1995. There are, however, some
problems associated with accurately recording burglary rates.
For example, some incidences may go unreported to the police
214 The Police Journal, Volume 79 (2006)
and so the figures that are widely available tend to identify the
number of victims of reported burglary rather than the actual
number of offenders or offences (Aye Maung, 1995). Even with
the controversy surrounding British crime surveys, the data
collected do make it possible to develop a general understanding
of the incidence rate.
The offenders involved in burglary are usually highly orga-
nised individuals, violence is rarely used (in around 11% of
cases), and there are several different approaches, which, in
some instances, can be indicative of the kind of victim
(Budd,1999). For example, ‘aggravated’ burglary is when the
offender has a weapon of offence with them and this carries a
heavier sentence if caught, whereas ‘distraction’ burglary is a
crime primarily targeted at vulnerable older people. The offen-
ders will most likely pretend to be an official of some sort, such
as the police or utility workers, in order to gain access to homes.
Once inside the victim is distracted and the burglary is com-
mitted (Thornton et al., 2003).
Approach
Psychological theories of crime developed in the past 30 years
have been divided between looking at the personality of the
criminal and looking at the situational factors that may influence
criminal activities. Clarke (1977) noted that crime, as a whole, is
such a multifaceted and diverse activity that trying to explain it
through personality traits alone is both insufficient and impos-
sible. This is because one of the most important factors to look at
when studying criminal behaviour is the type of crime.
A framework designed by Clarke (1977) attempted to take
such diversity in crime into account and incorporate a variety of
personal, social and situational factors to create a more complete
and applicable model. The framework demonstrated that the
likelihood of a criminal event occurring is dependent on a series
of distinct elements but ultimately controlled by two main
contributing variables: situational factors and personal factors.
The situational factors are simply where the situation provides an
opportunity for offending, such as a poorly lit street or unlocked
car, and the personal factors comprise cognitive or perceptual
processes, such as risk versus reward and the motivational state
of the individual at the time.
The situational and personal factors are both in turn influ-
enced by each other and a series of other contributing factors.
For example, both are influenced by the current living circum-
stances of the individual or how exposed the individual is to a
The Police Journal, Volume 79 (2006) 215
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