Introduction

These statements are very typical of what offenders say when asked to account for an offence. They frequently see offending as spontaneous events which happen without reason. However, while acquisitive crime, like most offending, has elements of impulsiveness, it is rarely an isolated act:

If practitioners accept too readily the offender's account of the theft or burglary as having ‘just happened’ and move too quickly to tackling the criminogenic (offending-related) needs of the offender then this is a missed opportunity. The opportunity missed is that of exploring in depth the factors or processes that have led to the offence occurring and thus being more precise in terms of understanding how to intervene to reduce the risk of reoffending. Offenders are less likely to be challenged about their offending behaviour and therefore more likely to see themselves as passive individuals caught up in events which are beyond their control, rather than people who have some choices in life.

The purpose of this chapter is to explore what is known about property offending and to help practitioners develop an understanding of how to work with it most effectively. Practitioners need to build up their skills and confidence in using searching questions, in order to have a better understanding of why offending occurs and how best to tackle it. Without this exploration of the decision-making processes underlying much offending, the practitioner is less likely to be aware of when the offender is being drawn into more serious crime.

The chapter begins by considering property crime and risk before exploring a number of theories about property crime, such as routine activities and rational choice, in order to build an understanding about why it happens in the way that it does.