To what extent is revictimization risk mitigated by police prevention advice after a previous burglary?

Abstract

This article investigates the effect of police prevention visits to recently burgled households on revictimization risk, using data on 8984 burgled houses in Adelaide, South Australia. We compare burgled dwellings whose inhabitants got advice with burgled dwellings whose inhabitants did not accept the offer of a prevention visit, and with burgled dwellings that did not get an offer at all. Using survival analysis, we estimate the effect size of the impact of prevention visits on revictimization risk. More than one in five cases of revictimization has been prevented through the prevention visit scheme.