The offence of domestic burglary is set out in Section 9 of the Theft Act 1968 which states that “a person is guilty of burglary if there is proof that he/she enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and there is the intention of stealing/inflicting GBH or causing damage”. When looking at crime prevention, there are two key questions to ask; “where are crime prevention efforts likely to produce the most benefits and what measures are most likely to deal with the issue most effectively, efficiently and ethically?” (Tilley, N. 2009) This essay will discuss what makes domestic burglary such an attractive offence and how Tilley’s four crime prevention approaches can be used in preventing such an offence and whether they are effective.

When looking at the offence of burglary and the ways in which to prevent it, it must first be understood how the victims are chosen and what the offenders look for. Many studies have been done focusing on a burglar’s assessment of the targets, in particular its accessibility, whether a house has high fences or hedges surrounding it, and occupancy, whether there is any indicator that a person is at home. This is done by relying on learned responses to visual cues, including ones’ signifying wealth and security. An offender will also look at the potential rewards that could be gained from burgling a house and whether there is something worth stealing that overrides the risk of getting caught. As stated by Brown and Bentley,