NCJ Number
123845
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 8-11
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
To examine the likelihood of being burglarized more than once within various time periods, burglary data were provided by the Saskatoon, Canada, police department in the form of computer printouts.
Abstract
The computer generated a month-by-month list of all residential burglaries in 1987. For each address burglarized, a second printout was obtained that listed previous burglaries dating back to 1984. For Saskatoon with a total of 70,343 dwellings as of December 31, 1987, 1,848 were burglarized once and 118 more than once. Analysis demonstrated that, upon being burglarized once during 1987, a dwelling stood nearly a four times greater chance of being burglarized again in that year. The risk of being burglarized a second time was highest within a month of the first burglary, indicating that the same offenders are often responsible. Law enforcement agencies should consider the need to act quickly after an initial burglary in order to prevent a second. Break-and-enter victims should be warned of the likelihood of repeat crimes, with elderly or frail victims a particular cause of concern. 7 references, 2 figures.