Exploring the practices of steal-to-order burglars: A different brand of offender?

Addis, Nicholas; Evans, Andrew; Malleson, Nicolas

Abstract

This research helps shed light on the largely overlooked practices amongst steal-to-order offenders, with a view to identifying ways in which steal-to-order offences may be disrupted through targeted intervention. Interviews were conducted with a sample of incarcerated burglars who have previously engaged in steal-to-order offences. In addition to highlighting a number of parallels between steal-to-order and non-steal-to-order offences, this paper illustrates the nature of professionalism exhibited by offenders during steal-to-order offences. Moreover, this paper reveals a behavioural continuum amongst offenders engaging in steal-to-order offences: those who steal-to-offer, those who steal-to-order more general items, and those who steal-to-order more specialist goods. The paper also highlights the potential lack of flexibility experienced by steal-to-order offenders, and the implications of this in challenging criminological theory of offender decision making. The paper concludes by discussing how steps at both a residential and organisational level may be taken to effectively disrupt the practices of offenders during steal-to-order offences.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 21, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Apr 9, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Deposit Date: Jun 8, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 8, 2022
• Journal: Security Journal
• Print ISSN: 0955-1662
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-4645
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (part of Springer Nature)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 457-475
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41284-019-00174-w
• Keywords: Law; Strategy and Management; Safety Research; Burglary; Steal-to-order; Stolen goods; Crime prevention; Modus operandi
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9095282
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com
• Additional Information: First Online: 9 April 2019