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Burglars: Personality and Spatial Behaviour

Burglars: Personality and Spatial Behaviour. Mgr. Veronika A. Poli senska, MSc. Burglary. Professional Opportuni s t ( Bennet & Wright, 1984 ; Nee & Taylor, 1988 ; Barker, 2000) . Largely non-violent crime in which environmental influences play a significant role . Geography of burglary.

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Burglars: Personality and Spatial Behaviour

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  1. Burglars: Personality and Spatial Behaviour Mgr. Veronika A. Polisenska, MSc.

  2. Burglary • Professional • Opportunist • (Bennet & Wright, 1984; Nee & Taylor, 1988; Barker, 2000) • Largely non-violent crime in which environmental influences play a significant role

  3. Geography of burglary • Ranges and zones • Minimum and maximum range • Safety zone • Awareness space • Brantingham and Brantingham (1981) • Spatial patterns • Uniform • Distance bias • Bimodal • Directional • Rengert and Wasilchick (1985)

  4. Mental maps • How people • understand environment • relate to the environment • make spatial decisions • (Kaplan, 1973; Cadwallader, 1976; Garling et al., 1985; Kitchin, 1994) • Divisions • Direction • Linear • Spread • Region • Specific • Large

  5. Personality • Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) • Battery of tests • Designed to assess differences between people • 7 dimensions of temperament and character • Temperament is defined as automatic emotional responses to experience that are partly heritable and stable throughout life.

  6. The temperament dimensions • Novelty seeking • high - excitable, exploratory, curious, easily bored and easily angered, disorderly • low - slow tempered, indifferent, stoical, systematic • Harm Avoidance • high - cautious, careful, timid, nervous and passive, however, take greater care in anticipating danger • low - carefree, daring and courageous, confident in danger • Reward Dependence • high - loving, warm, sensitive, sociable, they seek social contact. • low - practical, toughminded, socially insensitive, they do not strife to please others

  7. Research Sample • 27 burglars • At least once imprisoned for burglary • 4 prisons of minimum and medium security • Age 20 - 56 (mean = 31.3) • Questionnaire regarding family and criminal history • Semi-structured interview accompanied with drawing of sketches of mental maps • Cloninger test

  8. Typology of burglars • Content analysis of interviews • Source of the decision • External • Internal • Flexible • Loner • Action • Mental • Physical • Explorer • Opportunist • Cloninger • 4 types of offenders’ personalities

  9. Flexible offenders • 11 offenders • Middle values in all three temperament char. • Main theme - influence of external sources • Weak influence • a tip or specialisation in very specific items, such as garages or tools • puts quite an effort into looking for targets as well as preparation • Strong influence • of the situation, such as unlocked doors or open window • of friends, who needed help

  10. Spatial behavior • Shows journeys to different places • Away from home • Large environment • Along familiar route or no preference in direction • Little or no planning is involved

  11. Loners • 8 offenders • Low values in reward dependence • Main theme - fulfilment of practical needs. • Immediate fulfilment • least effort to gain what they aim for, for ex. money, food. • Sufficient fulfilment • for ex. enough of money for 6 months

  12. Spatial behaviour • Specific place - burgle within their home area using opportunities presented by that environment • Large region - travel farther distances and place large emphasis on preparation and choice of target

  13. Explorers • 5 offenders • High on novelty seeking • The main theme: occupation (mental) and maintaining standards • Like to overcome obstacles • Detailed process of choosing targets • Professionals

  14. Spatial behaviour: • far distances from their homes as they prefer the uncertainties of unknown areas • can spend several days on the road or in one city

  15. Opportunists • 3 offenders • The opposites of explorers • High on novelty seeking and low on reward dependence • Main theme: occupation (physical) and experience novelty • Burgle almost everyday

  16. Spatial behaviour • exploratory trips • specific process of exploring • burgle everyday very often under the influence of alcohol • little or no planning is involved

  17. Conclusion • The current research shows that the personality influences the spatial behaviour of burglars • The personality influences burglary with regards to sources of decision to burglar and action while burgling • 4 types of burglars with specific spatial behaviors

  18. Thank you This presentation was supported by Hlavka foundation

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