DistractionburglaryduringapandemicGloriaLaycockUCLJillDandoInstituteTheproblemDistractionBurglaryoccurswhereafalsehood,trickordistractionisusedonanoccupantofadwellingtogain,ortrytogain,accesstothepremisestocommitburglary.Itincludescaseswheretheoffenderfirstentersthepremisesandsubsequentlyusesdistractionmethodsinordertoremainonthepremisesorgainaccesstootherpartsofthepremisesinordertocommitburglary(forexample,byposingasatradesperson).WhatweknowaboutdistractionburglaryandhowweknowitAnONSreport(2017)notesthateachyearsinceMarch2004(whendatawerefirstavailable),lessthan5%ofdomesticburglariesrecordedbythepolicewereclassifiedas“distractionburglaries”;thisproportiondeclinedformuchoftheperiodfrom2008-2017.Itiscurrentlyabout1%ofallburglaries.Distractionburglars,orboguscallers,oftenoperateinpairstargetingtheelderlyandvulnerable.AnearlystudysetinWestYorkshirereportedthattheaverageageofdistractionburglaryvictimswas77andmorethanhalfwereover80.Forexample,between1April2019and31March2020therewere1871residentialburglariesreportedtoNorthYorkshirePolice.Only26weredistractionburglaries(1%),but73%ofthoseinvolvedvictimsaged65ormore.Thisoffencecausesagreatdealofdistresstovictims,whooftenreportfeelingstupidandhumiliatedfortrustingthecallersandallowingthemintotheirhome.Itcanleadtoaseriouslossofconfidenceinelderlypeopleandcandisproportionatelyaffecttheirhealth.Generally,oldervictimsofcrimearetwiceaslikelytodieorneedtoenterresidentialcarethannon-victimisedpeopleofthesameage.Some56%ofelderlyvictims(agedover60)lettheburglarinwiththeremaindergainingentryuninvited.Themainriskfactorswhenoffenderswerevoluntarilyadmittedwerereceivingfewerregularvisitors,believingthatthecaller’sstoryrangtrueandfewerdoorstepcheckingbehaviourspre-incident.Thesevictimsalsoreportedhigherlevelsofinitialtrauma.Ofthosesufferingdistractionburglary,68%wereawareofitasapossibilitybeforetheincidentbutmostofthemessagestheypickedupweregeneralwarningsratherthanofferingspecificadvicesuchasnotopeningdoorsorfittingadoorchain.Whatwethinkmighthappeninthecovid-19pandemicTheremaybeanincreaseindistractionburglariesamongsttheelderly,whoremainathomeoftenalone,andvulnerabletothosewhoarriveofferingsupport.Theymaywearmasksostensiblyto‘reducetheriskofinfection’,whichalsoprovidessomedisguise.Thiswillbeginassoonaswidespreadself-isolationkicksinandopportunitiesforbreakingandenteringreducebecauseoftheincreasedoccupancyoffamilyhomesduringtheday.

UCL JDI Special Series 1: Coronavirus

About this series: This is brief 2 of a series of short, speculative papers developed by the UCL Jill Dando Institute to support the police services during the current pandemic. The raison d’être of the series is fully described at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/jill-dando-institute/research/covid-19-special-papers .

Someideasinresponse1. Althoughcurrentlyonly1%ofburglariesareclassifiedasdistraction,thevictimsare

disproportionatelyelderly.Carefulanalysisofpolicereporteddatashouldrevealtheextentofthisandwhetherornotthereisanyconcentration,forexampleinmoreisolatedlocationsorvillages.Thisanalysiswouldsupportspecifictargetingofcrimepreventionadvice.

2. Ifhotspotsareidentifiedthenworkwithlocalparishcouncilstoprovidespecificadviceoninstallingdoorchains,ratherthangeneralawarenessraising.

3. Alertlocalnewspapers,villagemagazinesandotheroutletsthatmightbereadbyelderlyresidents,againofferingspecificadvice.

4. Suggestaneighbourhoodorcocoonwatchpayingparticularattentiontotheelderlylivingalone.

5. Askfamiliesandneighbourstocheckontheelderlyandsingleoccupancyhouseholdscautioningagainstuninvited/unexpectedvisitorsseekingtogainentry.

6. Establishlocalsignagetomakeclearthatdoorstepsalesorunplannedcallsarenotacceptableinthearea.

Relevantresources:Lister,S.,D.WallandJBryan(2004)EvaluationoftheLeedsDistractionBurglaryInitiativeHomeOfficeOnlinereport44/04availableherehttp://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.524.7720&rep=rep1&type=pdfOfficeofNationalStatisticsOverviewofburglaryandotherhouseholdtheft:EnglandandWales2017availableherehttps://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/overviewofburglaryandotherhouseholdtheft/englandandwales#what-are-the-long-term-trendsOfficeofNationalStatisticsCrimeinEnglandandWales:yearendingSeptember2019Availablehere:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2019OfficeofNationalStatisticsNatureofCrime:BurglaryyearendingMarch2018availablehere:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/natureofcrimeburglaryThornton,A.,CHatton,CMalone,T.Fryer,DWalker,J.CunninghamandN.Durrani(2003)DistractionburglaryamongstolderadultsandethnicMinorityCommunitiesHomeOfficeResearchStudy269availablehere:http://library.college.police.uk/docs/hors/hors269.pdf