Descriptively Exploring Residential Burglary and Fear of Crime: Do Enhanced Home Security Measures Affect Fear of Repeat Victimization?

This descriptive study explores pre-burglary residential security practices, fear of crime, and post-burglary residential security changes among residential burglary victims in a southeastern city in the United States. Residential burglary victims were identified with the assistance of a local police department, and an online survey was designed and disseminated. In addition to learning about the burglary event, information about police/security responses, and knowledge of the outcome of the case, results suggest that residents’ safety and security practices and fear levels increased significantly following the initial burglary. Significant changes in fear and security measures were observed for each demographic category of sex, race, and age, suggesting that all residential burglary victims were consistently impacted in terms of their level of fear before and after the burglary incident, as well as in their ability and willingness to enhance security measures. Despite several study limitations, these findings offer insight into a specific subgroup of victims and provide a roadmap for future studies of residential burglary victimization and prevention.