American International Journal of Social Science

A Study On Burglars’ Target Selection: Why Do Burglars Take Unnecessary Risks?
Minwan Kang, Ju-Lak Lee

Abstract
Most previous studies on burglars’ target selection assumed a rational cognitive state on the part of the burglar. However, if different arousal factors affected the rational model of decision making with respect to burglars’ target selection, the explanatory power of such a model could be regarded as limited. The goal of this study was to determine to what extent that burglary decision making was distorted or short-circuited by arousal. An in-depth interview with fifty-two burglars using a purposive sampling was employed to suit the specific needs of the study. The results showed that when a subject was under the influence of alcohol, or allowed himself to be, in whichever form, swayed by a partner or partners, his rational decision making processes were undermined.

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