Stealing Economics
Regular reader Justin forwarded me this interesting piece in "The Economist" about the decline of the English burglary. It seems that burglary in England has dropped some 45% over the last ten years. Is this primarily due to low unemployment rates or an increase in security systems? Seems not.
The more likely reasons for the decline of burglary have to do with changes in the criminal marketplace. In the past decade, the housebreaking trade has suffered two shocks—one to demand for its products, the other to its labour supply.
Yes, it's the economics of supply and demand. Traditional items stolen during break-ins, DVDs and stereos, are now so inexpensive that they aren't worth taking. TVs still have value, but the expensive ones are too large to easily steal.
The hot items are things easily turned into cash. Credit cards, cell phones, check books. I've also heard via word of mouth that iPods, easily recognizable if you use the white Apple-provided earbuds, are a big status symbol in England and are getting stolen regularly. But why go through all the trouble of breaking into someone's house to steal those things when you can just mug them on the street or pick their pocket?
In terms of the supply side of the equation, better intelligence-sharing among the police has cut that down. The skilled burglars of days gone by have seen their supply of fences diminished thanks to paid informants. There are also warnings that go out when a professional burglar gets released from prison.
It all makes perfect sense when laid out. But you gotta love it. The economics of supply and demand applied to crime. Just one of the many reasons I've always loved economics. You can apply its theories to just about anything.