Circumstances of crime, neighbourhood watch membership and perceptions of policing: Supplementary volume 3 to crime in England and Wales 2006/07: Findings from the 2006/07 British Crime Survey

An Investigation into the Differentiating Characteristics Between Car Key Burglars and Regular Burglars

“…Car key burglaries should no longer be classified as generic burglary offenses or property‐related offenses (2), they should be considered a unique subcategory of vehicle‐related offenses. In this manner, statistics purporting a recent decline in the incidence of vehicle crime (2,6,7) are inaccurate and are reflective of a lack of understanding surrounding this emerging offense type. Car key burglary preventative advice should be directed toward methods, which act to inhibit the identification and removal of potential target vehicles (e.g., advising car owners to utilize garages) rather than generic burglary crime prevention advice (20).…”

“…Clearly, substantial research still needs to be conducted surrounding car key burglaries. Owing to the rising prevalence of this offense type within the United Kingdom (6,11,33) and the potential for increase across the United States (7), it is recommended that further research concerning this crime type be carried out. Although the current findings provide a necessary basis on which to build upon, it is important that they are validated through replication.…”

“…Despite the increasing prevalence of car key burglary (6,11,33), this study was the first to investigate the characteristics of car key burglars. It has been demonstrated that car key burglars and regular burglars are distinct samples of offenders.…”

“…Anecdotal evidence compiled by the BCS substantiates this data (6); car thefts in which a key was utilized as part of offense committal increased from 9 to 15% between 1995 and 2006. Furthermore, figures reported by the U.K. Home Office (5) show that 85% of car thefts committed between 1998 and 2001 involved the use of the vehicle’s keys and that burglary was the most common method of obtaining them (occurring in 37% of offenses).…”

“…Between 1991 and 2006/2007, the presence of immobilizers rose from 23 to 78%. Taken together, these figures suggest that immobilizers (and other security devices such as central locking, fitted in 53% of vehicles across the same time period) have significantly reduced the risk of a vehicle being stolen and that such methods are useful theft prevention devices (6). …”