Co-offending and the Choice of Target Areas in Burglary

摘要

Using data on residential burglaries and residential burglars in The Hague, this study addresses the issue of whether solitary offenders choose their target areas differently from the way offender groups do. It is hypothesised that, in general, burglars are attracted to neighbourhoods that are nearby their homes, nearby the city centre, affluent, physically accessible, and characterised by social disorganisation. In addition, differences between solitary burglars and co-offending burglar groups regarding the strength of these criteria are assessed. The results support the postulated relevance of physical accessibility and proximity to the offenders' homes for both single offenders and co-offending groups. However, solitary burglars and burglar groups seem to agree on what constitutes an attractive target area, because no evidence for the postulated differences between them is found.