title: Burglar Target Selection: A Cross-national Comparison.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study builds on research undertaken by Bernasco and Nieuwbeerta and explores the generalizability of a theoretically derived offender target selection model in three cross-national study regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Taking a discrete spatial choice approach, we estimate the impact of both environment- and offender-level factors on residential burglary placement in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Combining cleared burglary data from all study regions in a single statistical model, we make statistical comparisons between environments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all three study regions, the likelihood an offender selects an area for burglary is positively influenced by proximity to their home, the proportion of easily accessible targets, and the total number of targets available. Furthermore, in two of the three study regions, juvenile offenders under the legal driving age are significantly more influenced by target proximity than adult offenders. Post hoc tests indicate the magnitudes of these impacts vary significantly between study regions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While burglary target selection strategies are consistent with opportunity-based explanations of offending, the impact of environmental context is significant. As such, the approach undertaken in combining observations from multiple study regions may aid criminology scholars in assessing the generalizability of observed findings across multiple environments.
authors: School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Townsley
authors: ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Birks
authors: Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam ; Department of Spatial Economics, VU University, Netherlands.
authors: Wim
authors: W
authors: Bernasco
authors: Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam ; Department of Sociology, Utrecht University, Netherlands.
authors: Stijn
authors: S
authors: Ruiter
authors: UCL Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, London, UK.
authors: Shane D
authors: SD
authors: Johnson
authors: Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors: Gentry
authors: G
authors: White
authors: Urban Research Program, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
authors: Scott
authors: S
authors: Baum
keywords: discrete spatial choice; offender mobility; replication; residential burglary