copyright dr mike sutton 20091 who buys stolen goods? findings from the 1994 bcs, 2002/03 bcs and...

Copyright Dr Mike Sutton 2009 1

Who Buys Stolen Goods?

Findings from the 1994 BCS, 2002/03 BCS and 2003 Offending Crime and Justice

Survey

Dr Mike Sutton,Reader in Criminology,

Nottingham Trent University


Any Comparisons Between 1994 BCS and 2002/3 to be Treated With Caution

• CAPI was first used in 1994 BCS but since then PCs less revered and have been famously known to go astray – even when in possession of civil servants

• 1994 BCS asked only about buying SG in past 5 years and being offered in last 12 months

• New BCS questions asked whether offered SG in last five years and buying in past 12 months.


Being Offered Stolen Goods

• 1994 BCS - 11 percent offered SGs in past year

• 2002/3 BCS – 11 percent offered SGs in past year and 21 percent in past five years.

• 2003 OCJS did not ask about offers of SG


Buying Stolen Goods

• 1994 BCS – 11 Percent bought in past 5 years

• 2003/4 BCS - (Only asked those who were offered stolen goods) – 5 percent bought in past five years

• 2003 OCJS – 7 percent bought SG in past 12 months


Relationship Between Being Offered and Buying Stolen Goods

• 1994 BCS – of those who received an offer in the past year: 44 percent bought SG

• 2003 BCS – of those who received an offer in the past 5 years: 25 percent bought SG (Equals 5 % of total pop of England and Wales)


Six S.G. Markets Typology

1. Commercial Fence Supplies.

2. Commercial Sales.

3. Commercially Facilitated Sales

4. Residential Fence Supplies.

5. Network Sales.

6. Hawking.


Complementary Qualitative Research

• These six market types were formulated on the basis of qualitative research with prolific offenders and the latest literature on stolen goods disposal methods.


Which Market is Most Important?

To date writing in this area suggests that no

one of these six market types is more

serious or important than another in terms of

the role it plays in promoting theft


The Stolen Goods Market in New South Wales

By Stephenson and Forsythe Interviewed in Australia 267 imprisoned burglars in 1997

They developed a ten-fold classification of SG Markets in an attempt tocreate a classification system that would be more useful for police and toidentify the markets most frequently used by thieves. And also, no doubt, the ten-fold classification is one that the authors feltmore conveniently suited their aims to quantify via questionnaire whichmarkets thieves used most frequently. Respondents were asked specifically if they had used each of the ten market types for the goodsthey had stolen during a period when they were free prior to their currentprison term.


The New South Wales SG Markets Typology

1. Drug Dealers2. Family friends and acquaintances3. Fences4. Legitimate businesses5. Pawn and Secondhand shops6. Strangers7. Markets8. Others


The MRA 6 Markets TypologyWas arrived at by in-depth qualitative research of the dynamics of selling stolengoods through interviews with both thieves and fences (Sutton 2008).

To aid the design of evidence led crime reduction initiatives the MRA isconcerned with the dynamics of selling stolen goods at every stage wherestolen goods are sold:

– By thief to dealer– Thief to wider public – Dealer to dealer – Dealer to wider public.

In effect, the MRA six markets classification enables us to better understand the dynamics and motivations of those stealing and selling stolen goods and how theft andsuch dealing might best be reduced, interrupted and where arrests might be made:

Who does what to/with whom, where, when, why, in which ways and with what effects?


National Frequency Data on Stolen Goods Markets Needed

1. The market types used by those who admitted stealing.

2. The market types in which people are making and receiving offers.

3. The market types in which people are buying stolen goods.

4. The market types facilitated by legitimate businesses – (Crimemongers)


The Way Forward with National Crime Surveys in This Field

To inform policy making, targeted policing

and the design of Market Reduction

Approach initiatives we need quantitative

data to assess which of the six markets

are playing particularly major roles in

facilitating theft.


OFFERS

The BCS revealed the important association betweenoffers of stolen goods and illicit buying behaviour.

What we need now is (1) more in-depth qualitativeinformation on the dynamics of offers and (2) from nationalcrime surveys of the general public, dealers and thieves, we require more information on how offers are made andrejected and received – in order to seek to measureprevalence and, more importantly, incidence of offers bymarket type.


Questionnaire Design

• The framing of the questions on a national crime survey needs to match a market typology that will best enable police, other crime prevention practitioners and policy makers to identify and prioritise specific markets and specific offenders, and other individuals, committing specific offences or other acts that facilitate theft through providing a market for supply by theft.


References

• Stevenson, R.J. and Forsythe, M.V. (1998) The Stolen Goods Market in New South Wales: An Interview Study With Imprisoned Burglars. New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Sydney. ISBN 0 7313 2601 6

• Sutton, M. (2009) Tackling Stolen Goods Markets. Problem Oriented Policing Guide for US Department of Justice COPS programme (in press)

• Sutton, M. (2009 in press) Understanding and Tackling Stolen Goods Markets. In Brookman et. Al. (Eds) Handbook of Crime. Cullompton Willan.

• Sutton,M. Hodgkinson, S. and Levi, M. (2008) HANDLING STOLEN GOODS: FINDINGS FROM THE 2003 OFFENDING CRIME AND JUSTICE SURVEY. Internet Journal of Criminology: http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Sutton_Stolen_Goods.pdf

• Sutton, M., Schneider, J.L. and Hetherington, (2001) Tackling theft with the market reduction approach. Home Office Crime Reduction Research Series Paper 8.

• Sutton, M. (1998) Handling Stolen Goods and Theft: A Market Reduction Approach. Home Office Research Study 178. Home Office. London.

http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Sutton_Stolen_Goods.pdf

copyright dr mike sutton 20091 who buys stolen goods? findings from the 1994 bcs, 2002/03 bcs and...

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