Burglary in Gated Communities

• Date: 01 March 2013
• Author: Ellen G. Cohn,Gregory D. Breetzke
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567713476887
• Published date: 01 March 2013
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Burglary in Gated

Communities: An Empirical

Analysis Using Routine

Activities Theory

Gregory D. Breetzke

1

and Ellen G. Cohn

2

Abstract

Gated communities have experienced phenomenal growth worldwide due in part to increasing fear

of urban crime and violence. However, very little is known about the effect of gating a neighborhood

on rates of criminal victimization. In this article, we fill this gap by examining the relationship between

residential burglary and gated communities in Tshwane, South Africa. South Africa has over 26,000

registered gated communities and high levels of violent and property crime, making it a suitable

geographical focus area for research of this nature. Using variables informed by routine activities

theory, we ran a series of regression models to assess the independent effect of gating on rates of

day and night time burglary. The findings indicate that gated neighborhoods have a significant positive

association with burglary rates in both day and night time models, suggesting that residing in a gated

community actually increases one’s risk of burglary victimization. Possible explanations for these

unexpected findings are discussed in the context of South Africa’s unique sociopolitical past.

Keywords

gated communities, South Africa, burglary, routine activities theory, situational crime prevention,

rational choice theory

Introduction

This article examines the relationship between burglary and gated communities in Tshwane,

South Africa. We are specifically interested in examining whether gating a neighborhood is an effec-

tive way of reducing burglary victimization rates in these areas. Using routine activities (RA) theory

as a theoretical backdrop, we construct a series of regression models for both day time and night time

burglary patterns in the city of Tshwane, South Africa, and ascertain the extent to which gating can

act as an effective capable guardian against burglary.

1

Department of Geography, College of Science, University of Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand

2

Department of Criminal Justice, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Ellen G. Cohn, Department of Criminal Justice, Florida International University, PCA 261A, Miami, FL 33199, USA.

Email: cohne@fiu.edu

International CriminalJustice Review

23(1) 56-74

ª2013 Georgia State University

Reprints and permission:

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DOI: 10.1177/1057567713476887

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Gated communities

1

have experienced phenomenal growth worldwide. Both the United States

and the United Kingdom have experienced a dramatic increase in the number of people estimated

to be living in these fortified enclaves (see Atkinson, Blandy, Flint, & Lister, 2004; Low, 2003).

While accurate figures are hard to come by it has been estimated that there were over 20 million

people in the United States residing in gated communities by the end of the 20th century (Vesseli-

nov, 2008). Analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2001 American Housing Survey, a sampling of

62,000 households that is representative of the nation’s 119 million households, shows that more

than 7 million households—about 6%of the national total—were in developments behind walls and

fences. Of these, about 4 million were in communities where access is controlled by gates, entry

codes, key cards, or security guards. The most recent English planning authority survey found

upward of 1,000 gated communities in England, predominantly in London and the southeast

(Blandy, 2007). There has also been a dramatic upsurge in various forms of gated communities

in less developed countries including Turkey (Genis¸, 2007), Brazil (Caldeira, 2000), Indonesia

(Leisch, 2000), China (Miao, 2010), Israel (Rosen & Razin, 2009), and South Africa (Landman,

2000).

A number of factors have contributed to the widespread proliferation of these communities

around the world. Among the most prominent factors include the need for privacy, exclusivity,

conveniency, and a growing desire on the part of residents to be segregated from other sectors of

society (see Dillon, 1994; Low, 2001; Marcuse, 1997; Wilson-Doenges, 2000). The most common

worldwide explanation, however, for the growth of these enclaves is the increasing fear of urban

crime and violence (Atkinson et al., 2004; Landman, 2000; Landman & Scho¨nteich, 2002). In the

United States, the growth of gated communities is seen as a direct housing response to crime and

disorder (Blakely & Snyder, 1998). Fuelled by a media that constantly broadcasts images of violence

and crime, people have become increasingly fearful and have withdrawn into these housing devel-

opments that they perceive to be safer and more secure. Blakely and Snyder (1997, pp. 1–2) observe

that ‘‘the phenomenon of walled cities and gated communities is a dramatic manifestation of a new

fortress mentality growing in America.’’ While this mentality has historically been the preserve of

the White upper class, this is changing as an increasing number of gated communities are developing

in upper-middle- and middle-class neighborhoods throughout the United States (Plaut, 2011). In

fact, recent evidence indicates that up to 38%of residents of owner gated communities in the south

and west of the United States belong to the middle class (Vesselinov, 2008). The search for security

is also believed to be the main driver of demand for gated communities in the United Kingdom

(Atkinson et al., 2004), Lebanon (Glasze & Alkhayyal, 2002), Mexico (Sheinbaum, 2008), Argen-

tina (Roitman & Giglio, 2010), Nigeria (Uduku, 2010), Australia (Lee & Herborn, 2003), and New

Zealand (Dixon, Dupois, & Lysnar, 2004).

The reasons for the rapid growth of gated communities in South Africa are equally myriad.

Ju

¨rgens and Gnad (2002) suggest that the rise in the number of these communities in the 1970s and

1980s was a direct response to increasing politically motivated unrest among the Black African

population against the apartheid system and the state’s tacit acceptance of breaches of apartheid

rules. Naude´ (2003) also believes that political uncertainty and postapartheid social unrest has led

to the growth of these fortified housing developments. The most common explanation, however, for

the growth of gated communities in South Africa is also crime and the fear of crime (Johannes, 2012;

Landman, 2000). South Africa is a country ravaged with crime. The country currently experiences

approximately 43 murders a day, approximately 31 murders per 100,000 population (South African

Police Service, 2012). While the raw figures are lower than those of the United States and China,

these latter countries have populations 6 and 30 times greater than South Africa, respectively. There-

fore, while the United States experiences approximately 68 murders per day, this translates to a rate

of only 9.8 murders per 100,000 population (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2012). China experi-

ences approximately 41 murders per day, or 1.1 murders per 100,000 population (United Nations

Breetzke and Cohn 57