Parking Patterns and Car Theft Risks: Policy-relevant Findings from the British Crime Survey

Previous analyses of car theft data from the British Crime Survey (BCS) have suggested that usual place of parking (e.g., in the street or in a garage) is related to risk of theft, even allowing for the fact that parking options vary with otherfactors (such as living in an inner city) that themselves affect risk. However, theft risks have been assessed for people usually parking in different locations without taking account of precisely where thefts occurred. This problem was avoided in the current study, based on datafrom the 1988 BCS, by examining where car owners usually park In the day and at night, and by assessing their risks at these locations only. It was found that "usual" parking locations vary much more in risk than previously suggested. For example, parking In a domestic garage at night Is safer by a factor of 20 thanparking in a driveway or other private place, and safer by afactor of 50 thanparking in the street near home. (This underlines the need for more garage and off-street parktng, and suggests that people with garages should be encouraged to use them whenever possible. In order to capitalize on the greater night-time guardianship afforded to cars parked near home, consideration should be given to the development of "silent" car Address for correspondence: Ronald V. Clarke, School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, 15 Washington Street Newark, New Jersey 07102.