Burglary Prevention – What We know and What We don’t Know (Yet)

• In Event: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Prevention of Property and Economic Offenses

Abstract

Regarding the period from 2006 to 2015, in Germany the number of residential burglaries is on the rise. Hereby, burglary offenses are characterized by a low likelihood of catching the offender on the one hand and victims who are suffering financial and psychological consequences on the other hand. For this reason, a comprehensive research by the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony surveyed 1,329 victims in five big cities of Germany.
After a short outline of this research project, the emphasis of the presentation is on burglary prevention. Hereby, households with attempted and those with completed offenses will be compared. The results indicate that additional locks, hiding a longer absence, and a sensitized neighborhood are predictors for failed burglary attempts. Hereof, implications can be made with regard to how residents can protect themselves against burglary offenses and what city planner and producer can do. The presentation will end with a short outlook of further need for research.

Authors

• Gina Rosa Wollinger, Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony

• Arne Dreißigacker, Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony

• Dirk Baier, ZHAW School of Social Work