Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Burglary Research and Conceptualizing the Community Security Function, a Learning Organization

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Handbook of Security

  • 1357 Accesses

Abstract

In the United States, perhaps elsewhere, burglary is the second most frequently occurring major crime after theft. Burglars prey on households and businesses, leaving behind victims and lost property rarely recovered. In the past 25 years, burglary rates have dropped dramatically in Western-law nations significantly attributable to effective crime prevention and security measures. Community initiatives have contributed to the implementation of some of these measures. This chapter suggests that even more rate reductions can be achieved by conceptualizing and developing the community security function (CSFs) as a learning organization. Burglars learn from experiences, successes and challenges, and research. Communities also learn (and can learn more) from information disseminated in many forms. CSFs exist more often in concept than reality. Formalization of CSFs as proactively critical and learned resources for further reducing burglary rates must rely on new research findings. Discussion is limited to summarizing selected recent research findings on burglars as crime workers who apply skills intentionally focused on counteracting security and prevention strategies. CSFs can benefit from an equally intensive focus on learning from what burglars are thinking and the actions and methods of prevention.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Addington, L.A., and Rennison, C.M. (2015). Keeping the Barbarians Outside the Gate? Comparing Burglary Victimization in Gated and Non-gated Communities. Justice Quarterly, 32(1), 168–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021). Victimization Rates, Selected Crimes. Melbourne, AU: Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/crime-victimisation-australia/latest-release

    Google Scholar 

  • Batvinis, R.J. (2007). The Origins of FBI Counterintelligence. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, U. (1992). Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berman, H.J. (2000). The Western Legal Tradition in a Millennial Perspective: Past and Future. Louisiana Law Journal, 60(3), 739–763.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B.B., and Bentley, D.L. (1993). Residential Burglars Judge Risk: The Role of Territoriality. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13, 51–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. (2015). Explaining the Property Crime Drop: The Offender Perspective. Trends & Issues in Crime & Criminal Justice, 495, 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calder, J.D. (2010). Frank Wills: The Lone Security Guard and a Constitutional Crisis: Fifteen Minutes of Fame. Journal of Applied Security Research, 5(2), 228–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calder, J.D. (2013). Between Brain and State: Herbert C. Hoover, George W. Wickersham, and the Commission that Grounded Social Scientific Investigations of American Crime and Justice, 1929–1931 and Beyond. Marquette Law Review, 96(4), 1035–1108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain, A.W., and Boggess, L.N. (2016). Relative Difference and Burglary Location: Can Ecological Characteristics of a Burglar’s Home Neighborhood Predict Offense Location? The Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 53(6), 872–906.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chilton, B.S., King, S.M., Foyou, V.E., and McDonald, J.S. (2019). The Public Administration Profession: Policy, Management, and Ethics. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, T., and Laegreid, P. (2016). Transcending New Public Management: The Transformation of Public Sector Reforms. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, R.V. (1995). Situational Crime Prevention. Crime and Justice, Vol. 19, Building a Safer Society: Strategic Approaches to Crime Prevention. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, M.A., Rust, R.T., Steen, S., and Tidd, S.T. (2006). Willingness-to-Pay for Crime Control Programs. Criminology, 42(1), 89–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornish, D., and Clarke, R. (1986). The Reasoning Criminal. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coupe, T., and Blake, L. (2006). Daylight and Darkness Targeting Strategies and the Risks of Being Seen at Residential Burglaries. Criminology, 44(2), 431–464.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coupe, T., and Fox, B.H. (2015). A Risky Business: How Do Access, Exposure and Guardians Affect the Chances of Non-residential Burglars Being Seen? Security Journal, 28(1), 71–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coupe, T., and Kaur, S. (2005). The Role of Alarms and CCTV in Detecting Non-residential Burglary. Security Journal, 18(2), 53–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cromwell, P. (2006 [1991]). In Their Own Words: Criminals on Crime, An Anthology. Los Angeles: Roxbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, D. (2004). There’s Something Happening Here: The New Left, the Klan and FBI Counterintelligence. Berkley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Alessio, S.J., Eitle, D., and Stolzenberg, L. (2012). Unemployment, Guardianship, and Weekday Residential Burglary. Justice Quarterly, 29(6), 919–932.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denhardt, R.B. (2011). Theories of Public Organization (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubrow, H. (1999). Shakespeare and Domestic Loss: Forces of Depravation, Mourning, and Recuperation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekblom, P., and Tilley, N. (2000). Going Equipped: Criminology, Situational Crime Prevention and the Resourceful Offender. The British Journal of Criminology, 40(3), 376–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, G. (2013). Five Tests for a Theory of the Crime Drop. Crime Science, 2(5), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrell, G., Tilley, N., and Tseloni, A. (2014). Why the Crime Drop? Crime and Justice, 43(1), 421–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fayol, H., and Storrs, C. (1916, tr. 2013). General and Industrial Management. London, UK: Martino Fine Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (2020). Crime in the United States, 2019. Washington, DC: FBI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felson, M. (2006). Crime and Nature. London, UK: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felson, M., and Boba, R. (2010). Crime and Everyday Life (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fielding, M., and Jones, V. (2012). ‘Disrupting the Optimal Forager’: Predictive Risk Mapping and Domestic Burglary Reduction in Trafford, Greater Manchester. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 14(1), 30–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, L.M. (1993). Crime and Punishment in American History. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, B.H., and Farrington, D.P. (2016). Behavioral Consistency Among Serial Burglars: Evaluating Offense Style Specialization Using Three Analytical Approaches. Crime & Delinquency, 62(9), 1123–1156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garafalo, J., and Clark, D. (1992). Guardianship and Residential Burglary. Justice Quarterly, 9(3), 443–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Getha-Taylor, H. (2008). Learning Indicators and Collaborative Capacity: Applying Action Learning Principles to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Public Administration Quarterly, 32(2), 125–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Girard, P.J. (1960). Burglary Trends and Protection. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 50(5), 511–518.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groff, E., and Taniguchi, T. (2019). Quantifying Crime Prevention Potential of Near-repeat Burglary. Police Quarterly, 22(3), 330–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinkle, J.C. (2013). The Relationship Between Disorder, Perceived Risk, and Collective Efficacy: A Look Into the Indirect Pathways of the Broken Windows Thesis. Criminal Justice Studies, 26(4), 408–432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinkle, J.C., and Weisburd, D. (2008). The Irony of Broken Windows Policing: A Micro-place Study of the Relationship Between Disorder, Focused Police Crackdowns and Fear of Crime. Journal of Criminal Justice, 36(6), 503–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hope, T. (2004). Pretend It Works: Evidence and Governance in the Evaluation of the Reducing Burglary Initiative. Criminal Justice, 4(3), 287–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R.W., and Pridemore, W.A. (2016). A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Home Vacancy on Robbery and Burglary Rates During the U.S. Housing Crisis, 2005–2009. Crime & Delinquency, 62(9), 1159–1179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelling, G.L., Dieckman, D., and Brown, C.E. (1974). The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment: A Summary Report. Arlington, VA: National Police Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutler, S.I. (2013). The Wars of Watergate. New York: Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Layton, J., and Chandler, N. (2021). 10 Largest Diamond Heists. Howstuffworks. https://people.howstuffworks.com/five-largest-diamond-heists.htm

  • Leddin, P., and Moon, D. (2018). Building a Winning Culture in Government: A Blueprint for Delivering Success in the Public Sector. Salt Lake City, UT: FranklinCovey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H.C., Lee, A.H., Clinton, M., Zhang, G., and Fraser, M.L. (2008). Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Homes of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 22(4), 335–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lentzner, H.R. (1979). The Cost of Negligence: Losses from Preventable Household Burglaries. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makinen, K. (2005). Expansive Security in a Learning Organisation: The Experience of the Finnish Ministry of Defence. Security Journal, 18(3), 71–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marquart, M.J. (2011). Building the Learning Organization: Achieving Strategic Advantage Through a Commitment to Learning (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mawby, R.I. (2014). Commercial Burglary, in Gill, M. (ed.) The Handbook of Security (2nd ed.). London: Palgrave Macmillan, 279–301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Medsger, B. (2014). The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover’s Secret FBI. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miethe, T.D., McCorkle, R.C., and Listwan, S.J. (2005). Crime Profiles: The Anatomy of Dangerous Persons, Places, and Situations (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miransky, J., and Langer, E.J. (1978). Burglary (Non)prevention: An Instance of Relinquishing Control. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 4(3), 399–405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, R.E., and Truman, J.L. (2020). Criminal Victimization, 2019 (Bulletin NCJ 255113). U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (1931). The Cost of Crime. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nee, C., van Gelder, J.-L., Otte, M., Vernham, Z., and Meenaghan, A. (2019). Learning on the Job: Studying Expertise in Residential Burglars Using Virtual Environments. Criminology, 57(3), 481–511.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman, O. (1976). Defensible Space: Crime and Prevention Through Urban Design. New York: Collier Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of National Statistics, UK (2020). Nature of Crime: Burglary. Duffryn, Newport, South Wales, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, K.W. (2003). Watergate: The Presidential Scandals That Shook America. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pease, K. (1991). The Kirkholt Project: Preventing Burglary on a British Public Housing Estate. Security Journal, 2(2), 73–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peaucelle, J.-L., and Guthrie, C. (2016). Henri Fayol, the Manager. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollitt, C., and Bouckaert, G. (2011). Public Management Reform: A Comparative Analysis—New Public Management, Governance, and the Neo-Weberian State (3rd ed.). London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pope, C.E. (1977). Crime-Specific Analysis: An Empirical Examination of Burglary Offender Characteristics. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prenzler, T. (2009). Preventing Burglary in Commercial and Institutional Settings: A Place Management and Partnerships Approach. Alexandria, VA: ASIS Foundation, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1967). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, J.J., and Trecki, V.L. (2017). Burglary Expertise: Comparing Burglars to Other Offenders. Deviant Behavior, 38(2), 188–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, J., Lee, S., and Joo, J. (2018). The Effect of Community-Level Alarm Ownership on Burglary Rates. Journal of Applied Security Research, 13(2), 160–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarr, H.A. (1973). Patterns of Research. U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Senge, P.M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shafritz, J.M., Russell, E.W., Borick, C.P., and Hyde, A.C. (2017). Introducing Public Administration (9th ed.). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stickle, B.F. (2015). Examining Public Willingness-to-Pay for Burglary Prevention. Crime Prevention & Community Safety, 17(2), 120–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, E. (2017). ‘I Should Have Been a Security Consultant’: The Good Lives Model and Residential Burglars. European Journal of Criminology, 14(4), 434–450.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, E. (2018). PAUSED for Thought? Using Verbal Protocol Analysis to Understand the Situational and Temporal Cues in the Decision-making of Residential Burglars. Security Journal, 31(1), 343–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilley, N., Thompson, R., Farrell, G., Grove, L., and Tseloni, A. (2015). Do Burglar Alarms Increase Burglary Risk? A Counter-Intuitive Finding and Possible Explanations. Crime Prevention & Community Safety, 17(1), 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tseloni, A., Farrell, G., Thompson, R., Evans, E., and Tilley, N. (2017). Domestic Burglary Drop and the Security Hypothesis. Crime Science, 6(1), 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandiviver, C., and Bernasco, W. (2020). “Location, Location, Location”: Effects of Neighborhood and House Attributs on Burglars’ Target Selections. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 36(3), 799–821.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, R.T., and Decker, S.H. (1994). Burglars on the Job: Streetlife and Residential Break-ins. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu, S.V., and Maxfield, M.G. (2014). Ordinary Business. British Journal of Criminology, 54(2), 298–320.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and Geography, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    James D. Calder

Authors
  1. James D. Calder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James D. Calder .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Perpetuity Research, Tunbridge Wells, UK

    Martin Gill

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Calder, J.D. (2022). Burglary Research and Conceptualizing the Community Security Function, a Learning Organization. In: Gill, M. (eds) The Handbook of Security. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91735-7_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91735-7_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-91734-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-91735-7

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation