Residential Burglary: An Ethnographic Analysis

• NCJ Number: 126684
• Date Published: 1990
• Author(s): P F Cromwell; M N Olson; D'A W Avary
• Length: 226 pages
• Grant Number(s): 88-IJ-CX-0042
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

Information from 30 active burglars in an urban Texas metropolitan area of 250,000 population formed the basis of an analysis of the extent to which residential burglars use rational processes to choose burglary targets and the environmental factors that affect their choices.

Abstract

The analysis also focused on the role of drug use, marketing strategies for stolen property, and the deterrence provided by the criminal justice system. The burglars were recruited by three informants referred from local criminal justice agencies. A researcher drove with each burglar to residential sites previously burglarized, and the burglar discussed and evaluated each site. Findings showed that burglars are opportunistic and that burglaries can be reduced by increasing the difficulty of committing the burglary, reducing the potential gain, and providing the illusion that the residence is occupied. Appended case studies and discussion of methodological issues, endnotes, and 79 references