Change in Offender Profile?

• In Event: Property crimes and embezzlement

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a decline in traditional property crimes, while various forms of online fraud have flourished. The obvious assumption is that there has been a shift from offline to online crime. Research also points in this direction.

Does such a shift also mean that the profile of those who still engage in offline crime—and their numbers remain substantial—has changed?

To investigate this question, a study was conducted on the profile of residential burglars arrested in Denmark between 2008 and 2022. The profile was mapped using registry data from Statistics Denmark.
The study examined to what extent the profile of residential burglars has changed over the course of 15 years (2008-2022) based on personal characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and criminal records. Additionally, it explored whether residential burglars during this period transitioned to forms of online crime.

Author

• Peter Kruize, Center for Crime Analysis