Washington, D.C., cops say the soft economy seems to be behind a rise in home burglaries.
The Washington Post reports that the police department has seen a 21 percent spike in break-ins compared to the same period in 2007. Thieves are hauling away the stuff that is easy to sell, such as jewelry and electronics.
I have seen similar claims
in the Yale Daily News and
the Ocala, Fla., Star-Banner.
The
Yale Daily News reported:
Since the economic upturn of the ’90s, and the dramatic decline in crime nationwide during that same period, criminologists have pondered the relationship between business cycles and delinquency. While some experts argue that attributing crimes to the state of the economy undermines the relevance of factors like police efficiency, others assert that economic factors not only correlate with the level of criminal activity, but even explain criminal behavior.
As one criminologist says, the economy can even predict the future of crime.
Don't be surprised to see alarm system companies use this argument to sell home alarms. A Web site called Alamsystemreviews.com points to studies
that seem to link the economy with burglary rates.
This 2001 story from a restaurant industry news site caught my eye and made me wonder if it is still true. It attributed a rash of restaurant burglaries around Dallas to the holiday season and the poor economy.
I wonder what to make of the "bad economy makes burglaries worse" angle when I see this story from NPR that says burglaries nationwide have been declining for 30 years.
The story says better security systems and police work may have contributed to the drop. But a key reason is that the market for stolen stuff is so saturated. As a former burglar tells NPR, "Everybody has everything now."
