Victimisation and Re-victimisation Risk, Housing Type and Area: A Study of Interactions

It is often assumed that less ostensibly affluent homes (eg terraced housing) are more at risk than other types of housing (such as detached houses) of being burgled. The research reported here shows these patterns to be strongly influenced by the area in which houses are located. The results demonstrate that detached houses in deprived areas are particularly vulnerable to both victimisation and repeat victimisation. In such areas, detached houses are at over three times the risk of being burgled than terraced housing. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the influences of area and housing type interact. For instance, detached houses located in deprived areas are at over seven times the risk of detached houses in affluent areas. Consequently, crime prevention agencies are cautioned against simply using area-level indices of deprivation when targeting resources, or assuming that housing most often associated with individual-level deprivation should be the first in line for assistance.