How Do Residential Burglars Select Target Areas?: A New Approach to the Analysis of Criminal Location Choice

Posted: 29 Feb 2008

See all articles by Wim Bernasco

Wim Bernasco

Nederlands Studiecentrum Criminaliteit en Rechtshandhaving NCSR

Paul Nieuwbeerta

Leiden University - Leiden Law School

Date Written: May 2005

Abstract

This paper introduces the discrete spatial choice approach to the study of criminal target choice. The approach is used to assess whether residential burglars are attracted to target areas that are affluent, accessible, and poorly guarded. In addition, the importance of these criteria is postulated to vary across burglars. The theory is tested using data on 548 residential burglaries, committed by 290 burglars from the city of The Hague, the Netherlands. The likelihood of a neighbourhood's being selected for burglary is heightened by its ethnic heterogeneity, its percentage of single-family dwellings, and its proximity to where the offender lives. The results and prospects of the discrete spatial choice approach for spatial target selection research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

Bernasco, Wim and Nieuwbeerta, Paul, How Do Residential Burglars Select Target Areas?: A New Approach to the Analysis of Criminal Location Choice (May 2005). The British Journal of Criminology, Vol. 45, Issue 3, pp. 296-315, 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=905411 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azh070

Wim Bernasco (Contact Author)

Nederlands Studiecentrum Criminaliteit en Rechtshandhaving NCSR ( email )

De Boelelaan 1077a
Amsterdam, 1081 HV
Netherlands

Paul Nieuwbeerta

Leiden University - Leiden Law School

P.O. Box 9520
2300 RA Leiden, NL-2300RA
Netherlands

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