2015 do burglar alarms increase burglary risk Crime prevention and community safety published version.pdf (310.28 kB)
Download fileDo burglar alarms increase burglary risk? A counter-intuitive finding and possible explanations
journal contribution
posted on 2015-01-28, 15:00 authored by Nick Tilley, Rebecca Thompson, Graham Farrell, Louise Nicholas, Andromachi TseloniBurglar alarms are widely used as a means to try to reduce the risk of domestic burglary. Previous research has suggested that some burglars are deterred by alarms and that they are therefore effective. Using multiple sweeps of the Crime Survey for England and Wales, the research reported here sought to corroborate these findings. It finds that alarms have become associated with increased rather than decreased risk of burglary with entry. This counter-intuitive finding needs to be treated cautiously. A series of hypotheses that might explain it are outlined.
Funding
This work was supported by an Economic and Social Research Council Secondary Data Analysis Initiative Phase 1 grant (project REF: ESRC-SDAI) [grant numbers ES/K003771/1 and ES/K003771/2].
History
School
- Social Sciences
Department
- Communication, Media, Social and Policy Studies