Journey to crime of 'itinerant crime groups'

摘要

Purpose - Most researchers have found that property crimes have a local focus: offenders tend tornoperate in the vicinity of their residence. This has led the police to organise themselves to concentraterntheir resources in highly populated, urban areas. Over the last decade mobile property offenders havernbeen found in various Western European countries that differ from this norm. These groups of mainlyrnEastern European multiple offenders engaging in property crime tend to travel further than otherrnoffenders. As such, their operations differ from most criminals, challenging the way the police arernorganised and undermining criminological theories on journey to crime. The aim of this paper is tornlook at the specificity of mobility patterns of these groups, to examine the precise interpretation ofrntheir mobility and to consider the implications.rnDesign/methodology/approach - The paper uses the Belgian police database containing allrnserious property crimes in Belgium for the period 2002-2006. Some basic offender characteristics havernbeen identified and for these offenders journey-to-crime patterns have been established.rnFindings - Eastern European multiple offending groups tend to commit their crimes in rural areas.rnAlthough they start their journey in regions considered "crime importing", they carry out their crimesrnin "crime exporting" areas. As such, they are atypical, challenging traditional theories onrnjourney-to-crime and the way in which police forces are organised.rnResearch limitations/implications - Observing a special group is one thing, but explaining theserndifferences is another. Further research is needed, in particular with regard to the motivational aspectsrnfor these offenders.rnOriginality/value - Whereas most researchers have found crime (including property crime) to bernmainly local, the present research focuses on more mobile offenders. The challenges that these groupsrncreate for law enforcement authorities make it important for them and their patterns of activity to bernunderstood.