Understanding Crime Scene Movements of Non-Apprehended Burglars: Combining Thematic Analysis with Log-Linear and Lag-Sequence Analysis

Abstract

Traditional methods of studying burglary have typically utilised thematic analysis, which has yielded insights into how burglars commit their crimes. This study extended those advances by combining a thematic analysis with statistical methods. Furthermore, most research has been carried out on apprehended offenders, while this has provided a rich and fertile source of data. However, given that the majority of burglaries go undetected, there is a genuine possibility that non-apprehended burglars are responsible for at least some of these offences and that they may have a different approach to offending than apprehended offenders. Thus, this study investigates whether there are crime scene behavioural differences between apprehended and non-apprehended burglars. I created both a burglary vignette to replicate a typical burglary scenario and a semi-structured interview schedule, which divided the vignette into distinct stages, to provide participants with an opportunity to describe their movements and their associated rationales as they progressed through the stages. The thematic analysis provides the descriptive component regarding the participants' movements as well as insights into their rationales. The statistical methods of analysis map the movements of the participants across the crime scene to elicit behavioural differences.

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