Property Crime Victimization: The Effectiveness of Police Services for Victims of Residential Burglary

Following an overview of current knowledge about burglary victimization, including demographic & situational antecedents, financial & psychological consequences, & victims' coping reactions, it is concluded that residential burglary dramatizes the relations between the individual, his or her home & property, & the social order. Perceived personal control & related concepts such as self-efficacy emerge as central to the coping process. Six experimental evaluation studies of police services for burglary victims are summarized, & it is concluded that few services focus on specific consequences of burglary with respect to home, privacy, & property. Effects of the services on victims taking burglary preventive measures & on their evaluations of the police are generally positive, though police interventions do not reduce the psychological impact of the burglary & sometimes lead to increased fear of property crime. Several explanations for this finding are discussed, & it is suggested that further theoretical & practical developments can benefit from increased knowledge about the meaning of privacy & personal possessions for burglary victims. 1 Table, 90 References. Adapted from the source document.