Property Crime - What Do Thieves Like To Steal?

The graphic shows the types of property taken from those between the ages of 12 and 17 years of age. Data come from all property crime (larceny, robbery, burglary).

Juveniles see the highest rates of personal theft. For robbery, those 16 to 19 years of age saw a rate of 7.3 per 100,000 people. Those 12 to 15 years of age saw the second highest rates. Those 16 to 19 years of age also saw the highest rates of personal theft, with 3.0 victimizations per 100,000 people.

Victimizations per 100,000 People by Age, 2000

Age	Robbery	Personal theft
12-15	4.2	1.8
16-19	7.3	3.0
20-24	6.2	1.1
25-34	3.9	1.5
35-49	2.7	0.9
50-64	2.1	0.5
65 or older	0.7	1.2

What sort of items were reported taken? Teenagers typically lost personal electronics or camera equipment. Such objects comprised 19% of all thefts involving juveniles. Clothing and luggage was involved in 17% of all cases. 10% of cases involved just cash. A slightly smaller percentage of all thefts among young people involved bicycles, jewelry, or watches.

What about adults? As shown in the table, those in their 20s saw significant rates of theft as well. Of those 20 to 24 years old, 6.2 per 100,000 reported being the victim of a robbery. Those 25 to 34 years of age saw significant rates in both the robbery and personal theft categories.

Property Stolen by Adults Age 18 and Over, 1996-97

Not too surprisingly, adults saw more expensive property taken. Motor vehicles or parts comprised 19% of all property stolen. Electronics and photo equipment was the second highest category. The third was tools and machines, 9% of all thefts among adults. A significant percentage of all thefts involved cash, clothing, luggage, jewelry, wallets, and credit cards. Such items have always been — and will probably always be — the target of thieves. The value of cash and credit cards is obvious; jewelry and watches can be quickly pawned for cash.

Another point to make here: many of these items cost only a few hundred dollars. Is it easier just to replace the item than to report it missing? Could these items affect how much property crime is reported?

Sources: "The Property Taken." Retrieved October 7, 2002 from http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/jjbul2000_12_2/page3.html; Data are for 1996-97. Age data comes from Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, Criminal Victimization, 2000, June 2001, p. 6.