Property Crime

The paper is concerned with the dark figures of property crime and reasons for reporting or not reporting such crime since official crime statistics depend on this. The aim of the paper is to provide answers to the questions to which extent property crime is reported, what the reasons are for reporting or not reporting crime, and whether there is a correlation between the decision to report and victims’ attitude towards the police. The purpose of the paper is, based on the results obtained, to identify opportunities for encouraging victims to report crime, and, in particular, to emphasise opportunities that police have at their disposal in that respect. The research was conducted on a convenience sample of 201 students who were asked whether they had been victims of crime and whether they had reported to the police. Respondents were also asked a hypothetical question on reporting property crime. According to the results obtained, slightly under one third were victims of some form of crime, and over half of them did not report. When it comes to property crime, almost half of the respondents did not report, while the reasons are diverse, for instance, the perception of lack of evidence. The results of the t-test and the correlation show that the readiness to report property crime would be statistically significantly higher if the respondents had a more positive attitude towards the police, and if they realised the importance of the cooperation between citizens and the police. Consequently, in order to decrease the dark figures of crime, an important role is certainly played by models that strengthen the cooperation between citizens and the police, as well as mutual trust in order to encourage reporting crime, for instance, community policing.

The ecological theory of crime was first introduced into criminology by the Cartographic School of Criminology in the 19th century. Ecological theories of crime were further developed by the Chicago School of Criminology in the early 20th century. Contemporary ecological theories include routine activity theory, crime pattern theory, and rational choice theory. The impact of the ecological perspective in scientific research of crime is noticeable in today's studies too. Modern scientists, researchers, and practitioners study crime by using the geographic information system, statistical and geostatistical methods, and crime mapping. The empirical research on the spatial patterns and concentration of crime in the City of Nis, Republic of Serbia, was conducted on the research sample of property crimes and violent crimes committed in the years 2008, 2013 and 2018. All the cases were geocoded into spatial units which represent urban and suburban areas in the territory of the City of ...

Commentators frequently report on the high prevalence of violent crime in South Africa and often label the country as one of the most violent in the world, with a subculture of violence and criminality. This paper focuses on a different perspective, reporting on the excessive use of force and destruction caused by offenders in South Africa to gain entry to victims' properties in the execution of non-violent property crimes, in a particular residential burglary. Literature on property crimes has been considering the aggravating circumstances of violent property crimes. However, the use of excessive force and destruction caused by burglars to gain access to victims' properties in the execution of residential burglary remains relatively untested in the literature. In this light, the purpose of this study is to describe the unprecedented levels of force used and destruction caused by burglars to gain access to victims' properties during residential burglary victimisation in an urban residential neighbourhood in Johannesburg, South Africa. A qualitative research approach is followed. A case study design was used to select an urban residential neighbourhood in Johannesburg as a case study. A data set of (n = 1 431) crimes were purposively selected by means of non-probability sampling. Qualitative and quantitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. This paper offers valuable insight into the forceful and destructive conduct of burglars in the selected neighbourhood and contributes to the body of knowledge by providing an improved understanding of target hardening as a preventive measure against residential burglary victimisation as well as on methods of entry used by burglars in incidents of residential burglary. The results of reported non-violent property crime victimisation incidences by this community's neighbourhood watch scheme suggest that residential burglars in the selected neighbourhood are uncharacteristically forceful and ravage in their actions since they frequently revert to extreme use of force and destruction, disproportionate to the crime perpetrated. It is concluded that this radical degree of force used and destruction caused by residential burglars to gain entry to victims' properties in the execution of non-violent property crimes is not typically associated with residential burglary as compared to countries internationally.

Rational choice models argue that income inequality leads to a higher expected utility of crime and thus generates incentives to engage in illegal activities. Yet, the results of empirical studies do not provide strong support for this theory; in fact, Neumayer provides apparently strong evidence that income inequality is not a significant determinant of violent property crime rates when a representative sample is used and country specific fixed effects are controlled for. An important limitation of this and other empirical studies on the subject is that they only consider proportional income differences, even though in rational choice models absolute difference in legal and illegal incomes determine the expected utility of crime. Using the same methodology and data as Neumayer, but using absolute inequality measures rather than proportional ones, this paper finds that absolute income inequality is a statistically significant determinant of robbery and violent theft rates. This result is robust to changes in sample size and to different absolute inequality measures, which not only implies that inequality is an important correlate of violent property crime rates but also suggests that absolute measures are preferable when the impact of inequality on property crime is studied.

The research objectives were to examine the concentration of crime and its temporal patterns in Niš and compare the related research results in spatial criminology. Longitudinal property and violent crime data were geocoded and assigned to three types of grid cells. Descriptive statistics were used to examine crime concentration, and spatial stability of crime was tested using a spatial point pattern test. The findings suggest an intense concentration of all crime types within all areal units and years of study. The higher rates of concentration were found in the analysis of less common robbery and violent crime. Findings of spatial pattern analysis suggest moderate to a high degree of similarity in spatial patterns among all crime types. However, sensitivity analysis indicates significant changes in the spatial distribution of both property and violent crime. Therefore, an alternative method is applied. Theoretical implications are discussed, highlighting routine activities and crime pattern theory. The study aims to instigate more spatial analysis of crime and evidence based criminal policies within the region.

Seasonal crime patterns have been a topic of criminological research for more than a century with results often conflicting. This descriptive qualitative study examines the nature of property crimes in Dhaka city and whether crime patterns fluctuate periodically throughout the seasons in between 2013 to 2016 using specific property crime data of Dhaka metropolitan area by following content analysis. This study found winter season is more likely to peak in property crime (26.54%). Among the property crimes dacoity peaks at monsoon (31.13% of total dacoity), robbery peaks at summer (26.62%) and vehicle theft touches the top (27.13%) at winter season. This result data has resemblance with many of researches before those worked with spatial-temporal relationships.

Crime is a phenomenon that has existed throughout human history and is one of the most serious urban problems today. It is detrimental to the quality of life and hampers economic growth and welfare. Though there has been extensive study on the persistence of crime, there is still little understanding and quantitative evidence of what the major determinants of crime are, with each discipline, be it economics, sociology, psychology or law etc. developing alternate theories for the same. Further, the determinants of crime vary based on the different economic, cultural and religious factors, making it even more difficult to explain. Developing countries such as India have increasing rates of crime, but still lack a clear understanding of the determinants of crime. As property crime accounts for the largest share of total crimes in India, this study aims to understand the extent to which the various socio-economic factors affect the incidence of property crime in India using macroeconomic state-wise data. The major independent variables that are believed to have an impact on property crime, and therefore have been chosen for analysis include unemployment (used as the main variable because of contradictory views in the literature), literacy rate (proxy for education), death rate (proxy for health), population density and state domestic product (proxy for income) of all the states and Union Territories in India. Using the OLS method and regression analysis, this paper shows that there is a weak negative correlation between unemployment and property crime as can be seen by the beta values. Further, death rate seems to have a great impact on property crime, followed by literacy rate and then unemployment as can be seen from the change in the adjusted R^2 values with additional variables in each of the regression models. SDP and population density have very little effect on property crimes in India. Policy makers should focus their limited resources in improving health and education levels in India to reduced the property crime​ ​rates​ ​in​ ​the​ ​most​ ​efficient​ ​manner.

Апстракт: Имовински криминалитет је врста криминалитета који је, криминолошки посматрано, вишеструко интересантан криминални феномен. Као прво, ријеч је о најмасовнијем криминалном феномену који партиципира више од 50% свих извршених кривичних дјела, при чему чини око 65% кривичних дјела општег криминалитета. У вези са тим је и највећи број пријављених лица, укључујући пунољетна и малољетна лица, као и повратнике у извршењу кривичних дјела имовинског криминалитета. Такође, највећи број извршилаца ових кривичних дјела јесу професионални извршиоци, али ова кривична дјела карактерише и значајан удио ситуационих извршиоца кривичних дјела, као и малољетних лица, којима су ово и прва извршена кривична дјела. Поред тога, структуру ових кривичних дјела карактерише изражена динамика, тј. промјене у обиму испољавања и разноврсност облика испољавања. Таква дистрибуција кривичних дјела имовинског криминалитета је и очекивана, јер су и различити облици понашања (радњи) којима се напада имовина других лица, као заштитни објект ових кривичних дјела. Циљ рада је да се путем доступних података сагледају стање и трендови имовинског криминалитета у Републици Српској у петогодишњем периоду (2011-2015). У ту сврху, користиће се статистички подаци о кривичним дјелима имовинског криминалитета који су садржани у подацима Министарства унутрашњих послова (евиденције, извјештаји о раду, информације) и подаци о броју пријављених, оптужених и осуђених пунољетних и малољетних лица садржани у статистикама Републичког завода за статистику, који приказује обједињене податке тужилаштава и судова. Кључне ријечи: криминалитет, имовински криминалитет, статика, динамика, типологија, евиденција, извјештај о раду, информација. УВОД Имовински криминалитет заузима централно мјесто у укупној структури криминалитета у Републици Српској. Наиме, висок удио ове врсте криминалитета у укупном криминалитету, чини га нарочито значајним како са аспекта објашњавања, тако и са аспекта спречавања и сузбијања. Сама чињеница да се ради о најчешћим (најмасовнијим) кривичним дјелима, наводи на закључак да највећи број пријављених лица јесу лица која су извршила неко од кривичних дјела имовинског криминалитета. У овој структури пријављених лица партиципирају не само пунoљетна лица, већ и

Economic crime models and the social strain theory argue that income inequality can foster property crime, yet empirical studies do not provide strong support for this relationship across countries. An important limitation of these studies is that they only consider relative inequality measures and omit absolute ones. Absolute inequality can have a crime-inducing effect for two main reasons: First, the potential monetary returns from crime can be expected to depend on the interaction between relative income inequality and mean income. Second, higher levels of absolute inequality imply that the economic elite can capture institutions in ways that can make them dysfunctional for society as a whole. This article finds that, in contrast to relative inequality, absolute inequality is a robust and statistically significant determinant of violent property crime rates for a sample of up to 59 developed and developing countries.

Economic crime models and the social strain theory argue that income inequality can foster property crime, yet empirical studies do not provide strong support for this relationship across countries. An important limitation of these studies is that they only consider relative inequality measures and omit absolute ones. Absolute inequality can have a crime-inducing effect for two main reasons: First, the potential monetary returns from crime can be expected to depend on the interaction between relative income inequality and mean income. Second, higher levels of absolute inequality imply that the economic elite can capture institutions in ways that can make them dysfunctional for society as a whole. This article finds that, in contrast to relative inequality, absolute inequality is a robust and statistically significant determinant of violent property crime rates for a sample of up to 59 developed and developing countries.

Crime is a social problem faced by all communities and ranges from property loss or damage to violent events such as murder and robbery. Crime trends are associated with many factors including mental health, unemployment rates, educational status and policing strategies. In this article, we provide property crime datasets for Malaysia from 2007 to 2017. The data were gathered from all reported cases at district police stations and contingent (state and federal territory levels) headquarters. This information was extracted from the Malaysian Police Reporting System (PRS) and divided into five categories; theft, car theft, motorcycle theft, van/lorry/heavy machinery theft and housebreaking. Overall, there were 1,361,320 property crime cases were reported from 2007 to 2017. Theft and motorcycle theft were observed to be the most common types of property crime in Malaysia. In general, property crime cases continue to decline from 163,317 cases in 2007 to only 77,562 in 2017 due to gover...

The ecological theory of crime was first introduced into criminology by the Cartographic School of Criminology in the 19th century. Ecological theories of crime were further developed by the Chicago School of Criminology in the early 20th century. Contemporary ecological theories include routine activity theory, crime pattern theory, and rational choice theory. The impact of the ecological perspective in scientific research of crime is noticeable in today's studies too. Modern scientists, researchers, and practitioners study crime by using the geographic information system, statistical and geostatistical methods, and crime mapping. The empirical research on the spatial patterns and concentration of crime in the City of Nis, Republic of Serbia, was conducted on the research sample of property crimes and violent crimes committed in the years 2008, 2013 and 2018. All the cases were geocoded into spatial units which represent urban and suburban areas in the territory of the City of Niš. Descriptive statistics was used to identify the urban areas with the highest crime rate. Andersen's Spatial Point Pattern Test (SPPT) was used to check the research hypothesis that the spatial patterns of crime are stable over time. This hypothesis has not been confirmed as the findings show that criminal activity demonstrates a trend of moving away from the central city zones towards the urban (residential) areas and suburban settlements. The results of this empirical research are of scientific and practical value. This spatial analysis of crime is among the first analysis of this kind in Serbia and the Balkans, and it was the very first time in the region that such analysis involved the application of the Spatial Point Pattern Test (SPPT). The research results maybe useful when creating security strategies and crime prevention policies by the police, decision-makers, and other stakeholders.

The research objectives were to examine the concentration of crime and its temporal patterns in Niš and compare the related research results in spatial criminology. Longitudinal property and violent crime data were geocoded and assigned to three types of grid cells. Descriptive statistics were used to examine crime concentration, and spatial stability of crime was tested using a spatial point pattern test. The findings suggest an intense concentration of all crime types within all areal units and years of study. The higher rates of concentration were found in the analysis of less common robbery and violent crime. Findings of spatial pattern analysis suggest moderate to a high degree of similarity in spatial patterns among all crime types. However, sensitivity analysis indicates significant changes in the spatial distribution of both property and violent crime. Therefore, an alternative method is applied. Theoretical implications are discussed, highlighting routine activities and crime pattern theory. The study aims to instigate more spatial analysis of crime and evidence-based criminal policies within the region.

Background: With a high volume of incoming cases and ever-present backlogs, forensic laboratories are often limited with the funding and resources necessary to test every evidence item waiting to be processed. 1 Properly allocating resources can be a persistent challenge.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine which types of physical evidence collected from property crime scenes, upon the completion of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis, would most likely lead to cold hits in the Combined DNA Index System database (CODIS) and ultimately result in arrests. The goal here is to provide law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories with useful information that could improve evidence processing methods and allow them to better utilize limited resources.
Materials and Methods: All of San Diego Police Department's DNA cases from property crimes during a one-year period were reviewed to determine which evidence types yielded the highest number of arrests. Bloodstains, drinking containers, cigarette butts, clothing, rocks, and various types of tools were the most common types of evidence submitted for DNA testing in property crime investigations.
Results: Bloodstains resulted in the highest amount of cold hits (73%) and yielded nearly 250% more arrests than non-blood evidence.
Conclusion: When allocating resources in forensic laboratories, property crime cases with blood evidence should be given the highest priority. Further prioritization based on evidence type, however, is not definitively supported by the results of this study.

Manning M., Fleming C. M. and Ambrey C. L. Life satisfaction and individual willingness to pay for crime reduction, Regional Studies. This paper uses the life satisfaction approach to estimate the intangible cost of crime in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Results show that: (1) property crime is negatively associated with life satisfaction; (2) the implicit willingness to pay to decrease property crime by one offence per 1000 residents in the local government area (LGA) in the previous 12 months is A$82 per household (A$32 per person); and (3) the difference in implicit willingness-to-pay estimates when using restricted windfall income compared with household income is considerable. These results are robust to a significant number of controls.

Economic crime models and the social strain theory argue that income inequality can foster property crime, yet empirical studies do not provide strong support for this relationship across countries. An important limitation of these studies is that they only consider relative inequality measures and omit absolute ones. Absolute inequality can have a crime-inducing effect for two main reasons: First, the potential monetary returns from crime can be expected to depend on the interaction between relative income inequality and mean income. Second, higher levels of absolute inequality imply that the economic elite can capture institutions in ways that can make them dysfunctional for society as a whole. This article finds that, in contrast to relative inequality, absolute inequality is a robust and statistically significant determinant of violent property crime rates for a sample of up to 59 developed and developing countries.

Comparative studies at the international level show us that the effect of economic
conditions in crime depends on the state of economic development and the forms
of crimes. In this article we represent reported conclusions of previous studies
on this issue and summarize their results. Actually, most recent studies show
that violent crimes against property such as robbery and not property crimes in
general have affected by economic crisis, while economically motivated crimes
such as theft, which do not require use of violence, are affected mainly in times
of economic growth. Therefore, it is likely of committing crimes against property,
in times of recession, outweigh, the influence of criminal motivation, whereas in
times of prosperity, the influence of criminal opportunity.

Uses panel data from 43 Police Force Areas to analyse the impact of custodial and non-custodial sentences for property and violent crime in England and Wales.  Marginal increase in custodial and community sentences are crime reductive for property crime, with community sentences presumably more cost-effective. Marginal increase in custodial sentences also reduce violent crime.