RT Article
T1 `Drive it like you Stole it́. Auto Theft and the Illusion of Normalcy
JF The British journal of criminology
VO 46
IS 2
SP 193
OP 211
A1 Cherbonneau, Michael
A2 Copes, Heith 1970-
LA English
YR 2006
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1639317910
AB In line with recent interest in the criminal decision-making process, researchers have begun exploring the risks and rewards that offenders attach to specific forms of crime and how these perceptions guide their behaviour. In this paper, we examine the strategies that auto thieves use to avoid police detection while driving a stolen vehicle. To do this, we rely on semi-structured interviews with 54 auto thieves. Results indicate that auto thieves manage encounters with police by creating an illusion of normalcy. Auto thieves make decisions throughout the crime-commission process that allows them to present an image of a normal driver in a normal vehicle to deflect attention away from themselves and the stolen vehicle. These strategies allow them to hide in the open and still maintain the crime's rewards. Discussion focuses on restrictive deterrence and wider implications for arrest avoidance in decision-making research. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
K1 Straftatbegehung
K1 Entscheidungsverhalten
K1 Autodiebstahl
K1 Entdeckungsrisiko
K1 Abschreckung
K1 Risikoeinschätzung