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Burglars found to be as skilled as pilots
Sept. 27, 2006
Courtesy University of Portsmouth
and World Science staff
Burglars are so good at robbing houses, they
can be considered experts in their field on a par with pilots, new research
concludes. A man tries to pry open a
garage door. (Courtesy City of Pacific Grove, Penn.)
Security alarms don’t deter a burglar intent on stealing from a property. Burglars prefer residents to be at home asleep, as this ensures valuables such as wallets, handbags and jewellery
are in the house. The average time for a burglar to be in
a property was 20 minutes, during which they netted goods worth £800
($1,500). Most burglars said they didn’t plan
the break-in in advance. Rather, they headed for an affluent area when they needed cash, then choose their property. Two-thirds knocked on the front door to check whether anyone was home before entering, and locked the door once inside. Two-thirds preferred to work alone so they
wouldn’t have to split profits or risk partners identifying them to police. Nee also found the majority of burglars had a set route once inside the house. They started in the master bedroom and scoured other bedrooms before heading for the living room, dining room and study. Intruders didn’t enter children’s rooms, as
these rarely contained valuables, and only went into kitchens if they had time. Send us a comment
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Psychologists Claire Nee and Amy Meenaghan of the University of Portsmouth, U.K.
found that burglars’ speed and efficiency puts them on a level with others who perform complicated tasks automatically,
such as musicians, chess players and pilots.
The conclusions were based on in-depth interviews with 50 serial burglars
on how they carry out break-ins, Nee and Meenaghan
said.
These talks, they added, revealed that getting into a home and stealing valuables, while simultaneously
monitoring noise, is a classic example of “expertise.”
“Burglars are expert decisionmakers. Based on a combination of cues—wealth, layout, occupancy or security—they decide which property to enter,” Nee remarked.
“Burglars become experienced at getting around a property very quickly with minimum risk and maximum gain. They navigate around the property using a fixed search pattern or mental map to make sure they get all the desirable goods in the least amount of time.”
The research, published in the September issue of the
British Journal of Criminology, found that:
The convicted burglars said they were mainly looking for credit cards, money or jewellery, according to the researchers. The lawbreakers took
televisions, CD and DVD players and other electrical goods as a bonus on their way out.
Overall, the information should help police and householders prevent domestic burglaries, the psychologists said.
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Burglars are so good at robbing houses, they should be regarded as experts in their field on a par with pilots, new research has found. Psychologists Claire Nee and Amy Meenaghan of the University of Portsmouth, U.K. said burglars’ speed and efficiency puts them on a level with others who perform complicated tasks automatically such as musicians, chess players and pilots. The conclusions were based on in-depth interviews with 50 serial burglars about how they carry out break-ins showed. These revealed that getting into someone’s home and stealing their valuables, while being able to simultaneously listen for noise, is a classic example of “expertise,” Nee and Meenaghan said. Their research, published in the September issue of the British Journal of Criminology, found that: · Security alarms don’t deter a burglar intent on stealing from a property · Burglars prefer residents to be at home asleep as this would ensure valuables such as wallets, handbags and jewellery would be in the house · The average time for a burglar to be in the property was 20 minutes, during which thieves netted goods worth £800 ($1,500). · Most burglars said they didn’t plan the burglary in advance but headed for an affluent area when they needed cash and then choose their property. · Two-thirds knocked on the front door to check whether anyone was home before entering and locked the door once inside the property. · Two-thirds preferred to work alone so they didn’t have to split the profits or risk partners identifying them to police. Nee also found the majority of burglars had a set route once inside the house. They started in the master bedroom and scoured other bedrooms before heading for the living room, dining room and study. Intruders did not enter children’s rooms as they rarely contained valuables and only went into the kitchen if they had time. The convicted burglars said they were mainly looking for credit cards, money or jewellery, according to the researchers. The lawbreakers took televisions, CD and DVD players and other electrical goods as a bonus on their way out of properties. The evidence will help crime prevention police officers and householders who want to prevent themselves against domestic burglaries, the psychologists said. “Burglars are expert decision-makers. Based on a combination of cues – wealth, layout, occupancy or security – they decide which property to enter,” Nee remarked. “Burglars become experienced at getting around a property very quickly with minimum risk and maximum gain. They navigate around the property using a fixed search pattern or mental map to make sure they get all the desirable goods in the least amount of time.”