NCJ Number
102727
Date Published
1986
Length
110 pages
Annotation
This study determined reasons for widespread differences in burglary clearance rates in six British police areas having similar burglary risks and workloads.
Abstract
The jurisdictions were matched in three pairs, and information was obtained on types of burglaries, police policies and procedures in dealing with the burglaries, central factors in the clearances, and views of the burglary victim. Jurisdictions with relatively high burglary clearance rates routinely interviewed offenders serving custodial sentences about their past crimes, producing admissions that closed many previously unsolved cases. In one jurisdiction, 85 percent of all burglary clearances were achieved by this method. One jurisdiction achieved a high clearance rate through arrests of a high number of persons acting 'suspiciously,' and burglary clearances were significantly assisted by information from the public. Less than 20 percent of the arrests resulted from police investigations lasting over 24 hours and pursued without early leads from the public. There was no evidence that more arrests and clearances were due to a low response time or the amount of investigative time spent on a case. Burglary victims in jurisdictions with low clearance rates were just as satisfied with their case investigation as victims in jurisdictions with high clearance rates. Tabular data and 52 references.