International Journal on Criminology Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 41

International Journal on Criminology
He takes up this idea in his conclusion by insisting on the fact that “responsive
securitization is as yet not a proven theory” (Van Dijk 2012, 33).
As with Farrell, Tilley, Tseloni, and Mailley, who consider that “there is a need for
further research to explore the relationship between securitization of various types and
the crime drops experienced in the United States and elsewhere” (Farrell et al. 2011, 17),
Van Dijk sees future work on responsive securitization as “a new agenda for comparative
international criminology” (Van Dijk 2012, 33).
Trends in Crime: Decreases in Recorded Crime Except for Domestic
Burglary
In August 2013, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published an
issue of its journal, Statistics in Focus, dedicated to “Trends in Crime and Criminal Justice,
2010” (Clarke 2013). Its subtitle presented the main trends: “Decreases in recorded crime
except for domestic burglary.”
In the article, the definition of “domestic burglary” corresponds to the notion of
cambriolage in French, in other words theft with forced entry: “Domestic burglary is defined
as gaining access to a dwelling by force in order to steal goods” (Clarke 2013, 4). As we have
seen, in English, the term “burglary” does not necessarily imply either forced entry or theft.
Depending on the country, the statistics that Eurostat published in its Table 5 on domestic
burglary do not necessarily correspond to what the French call cambriolage.
Eurostat’s announcement of a rise in the number of domestic burglaries reported by
the police of the 27 member states of the European Union is no less remarkable when seen
from France. It has since contributed to changing the research perspectives on cambriolage
and attempted cambriolage of home residences, crimes that had known a constant and
sustained increase since 2008. As with the American crime drop, once the trend was
observed in other countries, the phenomenon deserved to be studied on a wider geographic
scale.
In the Netherlands, the rates of “house burglaries” recorded by the police increased
from 2005 to 2012: “Dutch police recorded 5.5 house burglaries per thousand inhabitants
in 2012. In 2005 this figure was 4.3” (CBS 2013a), while “between 2007 and 2011 . . . the
number of burglaries in homes, including attempted burglaries, rose from nearly 68 to over
89 thousand” (CBS Statistical Yearbook 2013b).
According to the Belgian Federal Police, in a July 8, 2013, communiqué:
The number of burglaries recorded in residences has never been as high as last year,
and this is since the beginning of counting in 2000. The increase between 2011 and
2012 is 7.5%. The growing impact of the economic crisis as well as the attraction
of the price of gold and jewelry for thieves are not unrelated to this increase.
Alongside these facts, however, it must be noted that the number of attempted
burglaries, compared to accomplished crimes, has increased each year since 2008.
Of the burglaries recorded in 2012, 33.7% were attempts (this number was 32% in
2008). The increased attention to home security measures (or technoprevention)
played a definite role in this increase. It is an encouraging sign. However, it is clear
that the fight against domestic burglary is and remains an absolute priority for the
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