Burglars On The Job: Streetlife and Residential Break-ins

by Richard T. Wright, Scott H. Decker, Gilbert Geis (Other)

Overview

Winner of the SSSP Crime and Delinquency Outstanding Scholarship Award (1995)Through extensive and candid interviews, the authors of this ground-breaking work have studied burglars' decision-making processes within the context of their streetlife culture. In this volume they present their findings in the areas of motivation, target selection, methods of entering and searching a residence, and methods of selling stolen goods, concluding with a discussion of the theoretical implications of their research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555537852
Publisher:	Northeastern University Press
Publication date:	01/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
File size:	2 MB

Editorial Reviews

Unlike other studies of burglary that depend on a small sample of incarcerated informants, draws on extensive interviews with 105 active burglars in St. Louis, Missouri, all contacted without any help from authorities. They describe their motivations, target selection, the mechanisms of breaking in, search strategies, and methods for disposing of the goods. The authors, two criminologists and a social ecologist, contextualize the behavior within the street culture and conclude that most burglars burgle in order to support drugs or alcohol and rarely consider the risk or threat of sanctions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Richard Wright and Scott Decker . . . have made a milestone contribution to the understanding of residential burglary. . . If the enterprising spirit of this study were to be taken as a model for studying other forms of street crime, we would enjoy a major leap forward in criminological knowledge.”—Contemporary Sociology

From the Publisher