Infectious Burglaries. A Test of the Near Repeat Hypothesis

Datos Bibliográficos

ID18975992
AutoresMichael Townsley (0000-0001-9427-2338, autor de correspondencia)
Año2003
Volumen43
Número3
Páginas615-633
Fecha de publicación2003-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe British Journal of Criminology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0007-0955 • E-ISSN: 1464-3529
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/bjc/azg615
OpenAlexW3126086984
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12
Referencias citadas2

This paper explores one aspect of spatial dependence for the offence of burglary, utilising epidemiological methods for the study of infectious diseases to investigate the phenomenon of near repeat victimization. The near repeat burglary hypothesis states that proximity to a burgled dwelling increases burglary risk for those areas that have a high degree of housing homogeneity and that this risk is similar in nature to the temporarily heightened risk of becoming a repeat victim after an initial victimization. The near repeat hypothesis was tested on 34 months of police recorded burglary data across a high crime area of Brisbane, Australia. Near repeats were shown to exist in the study area, mainly in suburbs containing homogeneous housing. Little or no housing diversity, in terms of the type of physical construction and general appearance of dwellings, serves to restrict the extent of repeat victimization. Housing diversity allows offenders a choice of targets, and favoured targets will be 'revisited' by burglars. Near identical targets usually present no motive for an offender to favour one property over another. Thus in areas with low housing diversity, victim prevalence should be higher than in areas with heterogeneous housing

Biology · Criminology · Geography · Homogeneous · Political science · Statistics · Test (biology) · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Mathematics · Paleontology · Psychology · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses