Security and the Crime Drop: Household Burglary and the Keystone Hypothesis

• In Event: Macro level Influences and Crime Patterns

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that the ‘crime drop’ experienced from the 1990s in the United States and elsewhere is due to changed crime opportunities and particularly improved security. There is strong evidence from Australia, England and Wales, the Netherlands and the US that car theft fell dramatically due to vehicle security. This study examines the role of household security in declining burglary and further delineates the mechanisms of the keystone hypothesis (Farrell et al. 2008, 2010, 2011, Tseloni et al. 2012) by which falls in the main volume crimes may, like the removal of the keystone from an arch, cause other crimes to tumble.

Authors

• Graham Farrell, Simon Fraser University

• Andromachi Tseloni, Loughborough University

• Nick Tilley, University College London

• Louise E. Grove, Loughborough University

• Rebecca Thompson, Loughborough University