Preventing Retail Burglary

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Abstract

This guide is tailored toward private businesses interested in new approaches to the prevention of retail burglary. Designed to encourage partnerships between businesses and local law enforcement, the guide walks readers through the process of understanding retail burglary, collecting crime data, identifying potential strategies, and measuring the impact of those strategies. Several promising strategies for preventing retail burglary are highlighted, including: removing obstructions from windows to provide a clear line of sight into stores from the street and parking lot; improving lighting around doorways and other entry points; launching a public awareness campaign to inform would-be burglars of legal repercussions of burglarizing; and  limiting inventory on-hand. This guide is one in a series of six crime prevention publications focused on utilizing public/private partnerships to address crime.

Understanding Retail Burglary

Retail Burglary involves the breaking and entering into a business with the intent of stealing items. It often involves costly damage to the building and the loss of valuable merchandise, both of which can be detrimental to the livelihood of one’s business.

Retail Burglary Patterns

Retail burglaries typically occur at night and/or after regular business hours. In most cases, burglars enter through doors or windows and leave before police or security are able to respond. Although less common, “ram raids” and “smash and grabs” involve ramming a car or other objects into a retail building, attempting to grab as many items as possible, and then making a quick escape.

In general, burglars are motivated by economic gain, although some simply enjoy the excitement of stealing merchandise. While most burglars are opportunistic, a small share are skilled professionals, employing sophisticated planning and methods, and therefore committing many successful burglaries. Regardless of whether they are professional or opportunistic, most retail burglars select stores located in isolated areas or those known to have poor security features, such as low lighting, insufficient locks, no window bars, or lack of formal security systems.

Like shoplifters, burglars tend to choose targets based on convenience or the desirability of goods located in the store. They are particularly interested in expensive items that are easily portable, such as electronics, liquor, cigarettes, designer clothing, or recorded music and video. The acronym “CRAVED” was created to highlight attributes of commonly stolen merchandise that make them vulnerable to theft (see sidebar). Stores with pharmacies are often targeted for burglaries of popular regulated drugs, such as OxyContin or Dalaudid, as well as those drugs with restricted sales, such as pseudoephedrine.

Burglaries are not random phenomena, with both business size and the surrounding area’s crime rate playing some role in the probability of being burglarized. Small U.S. businesses, particularly in low-income urban areas, have the highest retail burglary crime rates. Stores that have been burgled once are at increased risk for repeat victimization. Twenty-four hour stores, with the constant presence of people, have the lowest risk of burglary.

In its annual “Crime in the United States” publication, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that in 2005 approximately 35 percent of burglaries were of non-residential buildings, which includes retail stores. Retail burglary, particularly repeat burglaries, present enormous costs to businesses – often leading businesses to lay off workers, increase prices, or even close stores entirely. Perhaps more discouraging to business owners and employees is that burglary cases typically go unsolved unless a burglar is apprehended at the crime scene. Without adequate evidence, burglaries have both the lowest arrest and clearance rates of all serious crimes reported to the FBI annually.

(End of excerpt. The entire guide is available in PDF format.)

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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