I know from personal experience, that the crime of burglary is deeply distressing. We consider our homes to be a safe haven, a place where we keep our treasured possessions and feel safe from the outside world. When someone comes into our personal space and takes our belongings, we feel violated. Very recently I had my mobile phone and debit cards stolen. The offenders used my debit cards in several shops. I felt a deep sense of loss and violation. Someone had taken one of my belongings and spent my money without consent. I cancelled the cards and blocked the phone and sim card, and my bank refunded the money. Everything was replaceable, and it only caused an inconvenience to replace it. However, I felt wronged and violated that a personal item had been taken. All of my photographs and messages were on there for them to potentially go through. Luckily, the phone was locked and they could not have got to my information, but it was still a violation.
Burglary is an intrusion of our personal space and is felt by some victims as a violation second only to rape. Although there is not normally any kind of confrontation, there is still an interpersonal interaction between the offender and the victim. The burglar may be committing the crime for a variety of reasons. It may be for monetary gain, for a sense of fun and excitement, peer pressure of group solidarity. When a burglar enters a home, they are not likely to be thinking about the victim, they are more likely to be focusing on themselves and their own needs.
In the past, people thought of offenders as impulsive, indiscriminate, opportunistic. We tend to think of burglars as not being intelligent, however, the process of choosing a suitable property, method of entry, doing a systematic search, and choosing what to steal requires certain skills to be acquired.
Several studies have found that burglars tend to select targets within 2 kilometres of where they live. There are several factors that a burglar needs to consider when deciding which property to target. They need to consider how they are going to get to a safe place to store the goods they steal. The burglar also considers ease of access and escape routes. One research paper by Luedtke (1970) found that houses near a major highway were more likely to be chosen than houses further away from major routes.
Of course, not all burglars are the same. The majority of studies into burglary highlight the differences in the level of experience or ‘professionalism’ in their crimes. Other studies have focused on the level of interaction with the residents. David Canter (1989) highlighted the interpersonal aspect of burglary and suggested that the victim and the offender become ‘intimate strangers’.
The method of entry and whether or not they work alone or with another person can reveal a lot about the offender. In general, criminals target the easiest targets. This is also true of burglaries. If an offender sees a property with an open window, on a street that is not well lit, no lights on in the house, and an easy escape route, they are more likely to target that property than one with secured doors and windows, a burglar alarm, lights on, and in a well-lit area.
Those with less experience tend to co offend with juveniles. Those with a mid-level experience are more likely to be older and work alone, have a specific target planned, and will result in higher-value losses. Those with high levels of professionalism or experience are likely to work with other skilled offenders, are selective about their target and plan well in advance.
Nee, a forensic psychologist from the University of Plymouth, has found that burglars have a complex cognitive toolbox of advanced, automatic skills – much like a chess player or football player. Nee found that burglars approach entry to a property systematically. Much of what they do occurs on automatic pilot. According to Routine Activity Theory, most crime is committed as part of everyday life. For a burglar, this means spotting potential properties whilst walking a dog, or walking to the shops. Planning the burglary usually begins before the day of the offence. However, the offender is always assessing the level of risk and may change their minds quickly if they see an easier target or anything that puts them off a property, such as people being home.
Burglars usually have a characteristic way of entering a property. Some may smash a window with an object nearby, others will bring tools with them to pick a lock or disable an alarm. Some will enter on the ground floor and others from a higher vantage point. Once inside the property, Nee found that the offenders operate on automatic pilot and will do a systematic search of the property. They usually avoid big electrical items and instead look for wallets and cards in pockets or jewellery.
Nee found that experienced burglars mostly followed the same route through the house. They begin upstairs in bedrooms searching for designer clothes, cash, cards, and other small items before heading to the living room. The experienced burglars spent around four minutes in the property. Burglars are not as concerned with alarms now, because they know most neighbours fail to call the police within the first 20 minutes of hearing an alarm.
Given their automatic behaviour, Nee suggests that a better deterrent would be something that the burglar wouldn’t expect. She says this would interrupt their internal script and abandon the crime.
Nee suggests. Playing a recording of someone’s footsteps, or even something as simple as gentle white noise might be distracting enough to perturb the burglar. Equally, you could layout your house in a distinct way – anything that confuses their automatic mental maps. “The thing is, you have to be innovative over time because burglars will get used to whatever you do,” she says.
Nee thinks one of the best strategies is to pretend that someone is always in the house; almost all the burglars she has interviewed report that they will do anything to avoid a face-to-face encounter. For example, if you are leaving your house shout goodbye at the front door to give the impression that someone is home.
You can read the full article on Nee here: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150618-the-strange-expertise-of-burglars
