2 Jun 2022

424

Burglars: Motives and Typology

Format: MLA

Academic level: College

Paper type: Research Paper

Words: 927

Pages: 4

Downloads: 0

Motives 

Burglary and vandalism are among the most common crimes in the US. However, clear motives for these criminal activities are yet to be established. People often assumed that monetary gain is the primary motivation for burglary. This argument held grounds because most burglars made more money than they would otherwise earn under salaried employment. With this position in mind, burglars often assess the gains due to an act of burglary against associated efforts and risks of being caught. Thus, they are more likely to invade an unoccupied house with more valuables than one that is either occupied or has minimal valuables ( Bartol et al., 2020) . Much as the motive for financial gains hold great weight; it does not explain other forms of burglary where the criminals invaded houses and attacked or intimidated the owners without taking anything valuable. Also, the motivation behind burglary acts where perpetrators vandalized windows, cars, and other valuables in the house remains a mystery. This behavior made researchers on burglar acts and motivated to seek alternative reasons behind such types of burglary activities. 

Another possible motivation for burglary is the adrenaline rush and excitement associated with the entire process, from planning to execution and successful escape. This explanation unravels the mystery as to why a person with a well-paying legitimate job can break into an unguarded house and vandalize furniture and other property without carrying a piece. This excitement may become habitual as the involved people develop new techniques of entering their victims’ residences. Such a criminal is not after financial gains, but he/she is engaging in burglary for malicious reasons. Such burglars may steal some valuables from the houses they force their entry ( Bartol et al., 2020) . However, the loot is not a necessity. It only supplements their incomes, and it is often spent on unneeded luxuries such as alcohol, drugs, expensive goods and partying, and to finance tertiary level studies. Rarely do this type of burglars uses the proceeds from crime to finance subsistence expenditure. Still, this motivation melts down to monetary benefits associated with the act. 

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Nevertheless, money is not the only motivation for professional burglary. Some interdicted burglars stated that they got some level of self-accomplishment and satisfaction from committing a crime. Thus, criminals are always willing to expend significant efforts to achieve emotional or physical desires. These motivations bring the psychological and expressive aspects of burglary ( Butler, 2005) . Some of these burglars get satisfaction in successfully committing a crime undetected than what they earn from the crime. Such burglars may invade a and vandalize cars and windows, or even attack the occupants of the residence before leaving without taking anything monetary or that come easily by liquefied to spendable money. In this context, expressive burglars can be categorized into the dominator, the feral threat and the riddle smith. Riddle smith burglars develop inventive techniques of leaving a sign or a mark of their presence at the crime ( Bartol et al., 2020) . Feral burglars are often maliciously destructive, and their actions are associated with vandalism. Both Feral and riddle smith burglars invade unoccupied residential or commercial actions. The dominator burglars invade occupied houses where they intimidate the families by threatening, beating, and raping these homes' members. Expressive burglars are not motivated by their financial gains; hence they are more likely to resume crime. 

Typologies 

Burglar typologies are often proposed by non-criminal people to solve or reduce the chances of committing a similar crime. In this regard, burglars are divided into four categories: the sexual predators, the vagrant, the young versatile and drug-oriented burglars ( Vaughn et al., 2008) . However, most burglars do not fit perfectly into a typology. Vagrant offenders contribute to over 22% of reported burglary incidences. Most transient burglars have a history of crime and arrest due to their vagabond and transient personalities, and they are likely to repeat a tendency of crime. The young and versatile offenders account for nearly 60% of all criminal acts committed; hence they are the most dominant of the four topologies ( Bartol et al., 2020) . This group comprises the contemporary burglars who plan their activities and even have disposing of their loot. The versatile young burglars and the vagrant burglars are motivated by financial benefits associated with their criminal activities. The drug-oriented burglars accounted for nearly 15% of all forced entry and vandalism ( Bartol et al., 2020) . This group of burglars engaged in drug-related issues such as drug trafficking and possession. To these people, burglary only supports the other crimes of drug dealings, and they are likely to carry weapons to defend themselves against arrest. Sexual predator burglars account for only 6% of the crimes. However, they are among the most violent and dangerous victims ( Bartol et al., 2020) . They engage in aggravated rape and assault, violent robbery, and solicitation. The motivation of this group of burglars is the satisfaction of sexual fantasies to victims they had earmarked ( Vaughn et al., 2008) . Hence, most invasions of occupied residences are done by sexual predators. 

Another typology of burglary focuses more on the scene of crime instead of the motivation for the crime. Again, this classification identified four typologies of burglary: organized, disorganized, opportunistic and interpersonal. Organized burglary scenes showed evidence that the criminals were well-prepared, and they had every requisite tool to force entry in a building, an indication of prior planning for the crime. On the other hand, disorganized burglary shows a disorganized entry where the crime scene is left in tatters and items are thrown anyhow. Like in disorganized cases, opportunistic burglars were characterized by careless entry to the scene ( Bartol et al., 2020) . This type of burglary is often unplanned, and the perpetrators take advantage of prevailing situations to enter the residence. For instance, the burglar may invade a private residence because they saw an opening at the door or windows. Such opportunities ease their entry and motivate them into the crime they never planned. An interpersonal burglary happens when the perpetrator invades an occupied residence and attempts to instill physical harm to the occupant ( Vaughn et al., 2008) . The four typologies of burglary are useful in unraveling the mysteries behind various burglary incidences. Moreover, they help with the police investigation and experimental studies that monitor behavioral trends of burglars. 

References 

Bartol, C.R.B.A. M. (2020).  Criminal Behavior . [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from  https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780135618752/ 

Butler, G. (2005). Commercial burglary: what offenders say.  Crime At Work , 29-41.  https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/problems/burglary_retail/PDFs/Butler.pdf 

Vaughn, M. G., DeLisi, M., Beaver, K. M., & Howard, M. O. (2008). Toward a Quantitative Typology of Burglars: A Latent Profile Analysis of Career Offenders.  Journal of Forensic Sciences DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00873.x 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 14). Burglars: Motives and Typology.
https://studybounty.com/burglars-motives-and-typology-research-paper

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