Virtual Burglary

Abstract

Objectives. This article explores the potential of virtual reality to study burglary by measuring user responses on the subjective, physiological and behavioral levels. Furthermore, it examines the influence of individual dispositions, such as sensation seeking and self-control, on behavior during a virtual burglary event. Methods. Participants, male university undergraduates (N=77), could freely move around a virtual neighborhood wearing a virtual reality headset and using a game controller, and were instructed to burgle one of the houses in the neighborhood. Participant movement, items stolen from the house, and heart rate were recorded throughout the burglary event. Individual dispositions were measured before, and subjective user responses were measured after, the event. Additionally, we experimentally varied whether there was an alarm sounding, and participants' beliefs about the chance of getting caught (deterrence). Results. Participants reacted subjectively to the burglary event by reporting high levels of presence in the virtual environment and physiologically by showing increased heart rates. In terms of behavior, high deterrence resulted in fewer items being stolen and a shorter burglary. Furthermore, sensation seekers stole more valuable items, while participants high in conscientiousness stole fewer items. Conclusions. The results suggest that virtual environments have substantial potential for studying criminal behavior. 2 Watching burglars in action would be an excellent way to increase our knowledge of burglary. In practice this is only rarely possible, however, and even less so in a controlled setting that allows for systematic study. By virtue of its illegal nature, burglary, analogous to other serious offenses, occurs out of sight and hence is hard to observe and examine 'in the wild'. Even in those cases that would allow for direct observation, ethical considerations generally militate against it. Consequently, our knowledge of burglary relies in large part either on studies examining targeting patterns and target characteristics, or on studies using retrospective methods, such as offender interviews and surveys. The former type of research has yielded crucial insights on areas where burglaries are likely to take place (e.g., Johnson and Bowers, 2004; Townsley, Homel and Chaseling, 2003) and offending trajectories taken (e.g., Bernasco, 2010), but offers little in the way of burglar decision-making processes while committing the offense (Coupe, in press; Wright and Decker, 1994). Interview studies have provided valuable insights into offender decision-making (e.g.,

Learning on the job: Studying expertise in residential burglars using virtual environments*

“…In doing so, we have attempted to demonstrate burglars' enhanced expertise and to deepen our understanding of the psychological mechanisms involved. Extending previous work in which virtual environments were used Van Gelder et al, 2017), our design allowed for us to observe experienced burglars as they undertook the entire burglary episode from evaluating a neighborhood to choosing a target and subsequently burgling it. Therefore, we could get a detailed glimpse at burglars while on the job, disclosing information that was hitherto inaccessible, and demonstrating potential for crime prevention, desistance, and theory development regarding offender expertise and decision making.…”

“…In the current study, we also go several steps further than in previous work using VR to study burglary. By using a neighborhood, it represents a significant departure in terms of size, realism, detail, and scale of measurement from the single houses used in prior studies (e.g., Van Gelder et al, 2017). For example, in both latter studies, limited movement was possible and only one house could be entered, so participants could not scope the neighborhood or choose a target house.…”

“…It was designed to reflect a typical residential neighborhood and property type to be targeted by most residential burglars. A similar, less advanced neighborhood was used in a study by Van Gelder et al (2017; which aimed in part to test the functionality of the VE with a sample of students). For reasons of experimental control, the interior of each house was kept nearly identical.…”

“…The range of behaviors recorded was considerably more varied in the control group, indicating less skill and script-like knowledge in relation to the burglary. 1 To build on these preliminary findings, Van Gelder et al (2017) used immersive VR with undergraduate students to examine whether they responded in predictable ways at the subjective, physiological, and behavioral levels to the virtual burglaries they committed, as well as to examine whether individual dispositions (e.g., sensation seeking and self-control) influenced their burglary behavior. In line with expectations, participants reacted subjectively to the burglary event by reporting substantial levels of presence in the virtual environment, as well as physiologically by showing increased heart rates during the burglary.…”

“…In terms of behavior, a higher risk of apprehension resulted in fewer items being stolen and in a shorter burglary. and Van Gelder et al (2017) were primarily concerned with testing the functionality of virtual environments for the study of burglary and established the feasibility of the VR method for crime research. In these studies, however, scholars relied on very small or student samples (Van Gelder et al, 2017) and used a restricted virtual environment consisting of a single house that could be burgled.…”