Scottish Government

HOUSEBREAKING IN SCOTLAND: FINDINGS FROM THE 2000 SCOTTISH CRIME SURVEY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Scottish Crime Survey (SCS) measures crimes directly experienced by people living in private households. The 2000 SCS is the fifth survey of its kind to be carried out in Scotland since the early 1980s. This report presents the findings on the extent and characteristics of housebreaking in Scotland.

KEY FINDINGS

• Housebreaking remains one of the least common crimes, accounting for one in ten crimes reported to the 2000 SCS. There was a small rise (2.7%) in the estimated total number of housebreakings between 1995 and 1999, but this was not statistically significant.
• Crime surveys have consistently shown levels of housebreaking to be higher in England and Wales than in Scotland. However, the gap has narrowed considerably between 1995 and 1999.
• The risk of housebreaking is low across all types of household. Three percent of households had suffered at least one incident of housebreaking in 1999. Of these, 9% had been targeted more than once.
• Not all crimes categorised as housebreakings resulted in loss of property. Unsuccessful attempts to gain entry comprised almost half of housebreakings. In a further 11% of cases the offender(s) gained entry but did not steal anything. Something was actually stolen in 40% of cases (most commonly jewellery/silverware, handbags/wallets/purses or cash).
• The respondent was at home during 53% of housebreakings, and in more than half of such cases had contact with the offender. These incidents were less likely to result in loss of property.
• There has been a small decrease since 1996 in how common housebreaking is perceived to be. Thirty percent of respondents felt that housebreaking was 'very' or 'fairly' common in their area, compared to 39% in 1996. Despite this perception, fewer than one in ten respondents felt that it was 'very' or 'fairly' likely that their home would be broken into during the next 12 months.
• Housebreaking appears to cause greater anxiety relative to other crimes than might be suggested by its prevalence. Whereas housebreaking comprises only one in ten of SCS crimes, it comes a close third behind vehicle vandalism and theft from a car in the extent of worry it generates. This level of anxiety is reflected in the fact that over half of those who had been victimised at any time in the past still remembered the incident very well, and a similar proportion claimed that it had had a lasting effect on their behaviour.
• Many security features have become more common since 1996, including security locks on windows, double locking doors and security chains. Only 6% of households had no household security measures. The majority of housebreaking victims (60%) had installed security measures as a direct result of having their home broken into.