DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BURGLARS AND VIOLENT OFFENDERS

Information was extracted from police files in Nottinghamshire about 345 burglars and 310 violent offenders involved in cases where nobody (victim, witness or police) knew their identity at the time of the offence. Burglars tended to be unemployed or at school, and overwhelmingly committed their offences for material gain. Violent offenders tended to be under the influence of alcohol and commonly committed their offences because of anger or provocation. While there was a great deal of versatility in offending, there was also some specialization, since half of the burglars had a previous conviction for burglary, and half of the violent offenders had a previous conviction for violence. Overall, 90% of burglars and 80% of violent offenders had a previous conviction of some kind.