International Journal on Criminology Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 95

Burglaries in France
To this end, we offer a typological analysis of households in mainland France,
of the accommodation in which they live, and of their environment based on data
from the LES surveys conducted between 2007 and 2014. We will first present the
data and the methodological considerations related to the creation of the typology.
Secondly, we will present the groups identified by the typology and the proportions
of victims of burglaries, attempted burglaries, and thefts without forced entry for each
of the profiles identified. Finally, we will discuss the significance of these results for
empirical knowledge and with respect to potential public security policies.
Methodology
Source Data
In order to produce this study, we drew on data from the Living Environment and
Security survey compiled by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic
Studies (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques(INSEE)).
This survey, which has been conducted since 2007, aims to record the crimes of which
households and their members may have been victims in the two years prior to the
survey. It focuses on burglary, thefts from or damage to vehicles or homes, thefts
against persons, physical violence, and threats or verbal abuse, and it covers both
crimes that were the subject of a complaint and those that were not. It also focuses on
the views of individuals concerning their living environment and security. Between
fifteen thousand and seventeen thousand households answer the questionnaires each
year. The sample of respondents is then weighted so that it is representative of the
entire population of mainland France.
In researching the subject under consideration here, we used data from surveys
conducted between 2007 and 2014 with households in mainland France. In particular,
we drew on responses to questions concerning burglaries, attempted burglaries, and
thefts without forced entry at the principal residence. In this study, this group of
offenses may, for simplicity’s sake, be referred to using the term “burglary.”
Over the course of these surveys, around 132,000 households were
interviewed. This sample was then weighted to be representative of the twenty-eight
million households in mainland France during the period covered by the surveys. It is
estimated that 4.8% of households reported having been victims of burglary, attempted
burglary, or theft without forced entry in their principal residence during the two years
preceding the survey.
In addition to issues relating to offenses against households and individuals,
the survey allows households and individuals to be described according to their
sociodemographic characteristics, their accommodation, and their neighborhood of
residence. These characteristics may be those of the household reference person, all
of the household, the relevant accommodation, or the surrounding environment. The
descriptions of these were given either by the person interviewed or by the interviewer
when the survey was carried out.
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