U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Reducing Burglary: A Study of Chemists' Shops

NCJ Number
120057
Author(s)
G Laycock
Date Published
1984
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This document focuses on the effects of measures taken to give retail pharmacies greater protection against burglary.
Abstract
An obvious method of reducing crime is to make it more difficult to commit - to lock the doors and windows, introduce unbreakable glass - in other words to "harden the target." The Great Britain Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations permit retail pharmacists to be exempt from security requirements as long as the police agree that the present security is adequate. The police claim that their advice, when acted upon, effectively reduces burglary. The data presented have sought to show that the kind of target hardening advice provided by crime prevention officers can be effective. Some chief constables were able to report that the crime prevention officers' advice had led to fewer burglaries, and this was substantiated by the small study on shops exempted in 1980. 4 references.