Discussion: Responsibility

12/23/2020

Week 4 Discussion

‘Responsibility’

As temperatures increase so do the temperaments of individuals and the percentage of

crime rates including burglaries. Edwards (2020) illustrated that on average burglaries rise by

about 10% between the summer months (Jun-Aug). Based on a survey used to identify which

months account for the most burglaries Edwards (2020) found that June accounts for 11.3% of

burglaries experienced by respondents while only 5% of the burglaries are experienced in

August.

Victims and potential victims of burglaries may contribute to the opportunity that arises when

an offender decides which location, they are going to burglarize without even being aware that

they are doing so. A person sleeping with their window open at night or even during the day to

get airflow makes it easier for an offender to burglarize their property. Another possible

contribution is when individuals lock their doors but again leaving their back windows open

because ‘they are in the fenced backyard’ when they leave their home whether it be for a long

period or short period. On average a burglar spends 8-12 minutes in a home (Tholen, 2020) while

on average a trip to the grocery store takes 41 minutes (Lake, 2020). Leaving any access open to

their property while they are not on the property contributes to the crime or the potential for them

to be a victim of the crime.

Victim blaming is an approach that holds an injured party partly responsible for what

happened in this case their home being burglarized (Karmen, 2020). The only way a victim of

burglary would be held partly responsible for the crime is if they knew about the crime or were

involved with the crime. They would not be held partly responsible because they left a window

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open while they ran to the store for a missing ingredient even though it could have contributed to

their house being the target of choice. It is the victim’s responsibility to report the crime to the

proper authorities as soon as possible, cooperate with law enforcement and the

investigation/case, testify at the defendant’s trial, and always notify the authorities if your

personal information such as your address changes (Rio Rancho, n.d.). As long as the victim

takes the proper precautions and reports the crime to the authorities as soon as they know about

the crime, they can potentially keep themselves from being a victim or falling victim to burglary

a second time.

References

Edwards, R. (2020, July 24). 8 Surprising Home Burglary Facts and Stats. SafeWise.

https://www.safewise.com/blog/8-surprising-home-burglary-statistics/.

Karmen, A. (2020). Crime victims: An introduction to victimology (10th ed.). Boston, MA:

Cengage Learning.

Lake, R. (2020, July 2). Grocery Shopping Statistics: 23 Fun Size Facts to Know. CreditDonkey.

https://www.creditdonkey.com/grocery-shopping-statistics.html.

Tholen, C. (2019, December 10). Home Burglary Statistics: Will Your Home be Broken Into?

ASecureLife.com. https://www.asecurelife.com/burglary-statistics/.

Victim's Rights and Responsibilities. Victim's Rights and Responsibilities | The Official Site of

Rio Rancho, NM. https://rrnm.gov/222/Victims-Rights-and-Responsibilities.

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