In some countries (e.g., Italy), there is an obligation for hotels of certain categories (4/5 stars) to equip guest rooms with safety containers/in-room safes. However, we wonder whether a prior informed assessment was made regarding the effectiveness of this security countermeasure in the face of the phenomenon of hotel burglary. Actually, from the literature on situational crime prevention, it can be deduced that, sometimes, in situations considered similar to the one in question (Hill, 1986), the introduction of the countermeasure could cause the opposite effect to that desired; that is, it itself becomes criminogenic, as a tempting target for burglars.
Given the above, would you have any concrete information sources/methods to suggest that could be useful for the research I am conducting in this regard?
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N Hill (1986). Prepayment Coin Meters - A Target for Burglary. Virginia Council on Criminal Justice. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/prepayment-coin-meters-target-burglary
I would suggest finding out about police statistics and comparing their changes with changes in similar crimes (socio-economic changes may affect the overall level of crime, which usually increases in crisis situations). Also pay attention to whether there were any significant changes in the legal classification of offenses in the period you are interested in, as this sometimes results in a sudden change in recorded crimes. I've never been robbed in a hotel myself, but: - I never take unnecessary valuable items when traveling, - I do not stay in hotels that might suggest that I am a potentially attractive victim, but I also avoid the cheapest accommodation where I subjectively expect a greater risk of unwanted company. I once learned what a difference a paid toilet makes for comfort and safety in highway parking lots. A free toilet means that you meet a slightly different social profile in the parking lot, where you are much more exposed, if not to theft, then to begging or intrusive offers to buy suspicious items from suspicious people. Of course, my personal experience does not have the value of statistical data:).
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-01-19/spains-melia-hotels-to-pay-daddy-yankee-nearly-1-million-for-jewellery-theft
Yes, but this is an isolated incident. Take into account that people who take jewelry worth $1M with them on a trip are an extremely narrow social group. Such people may have been previously observed by professional thieves, and the theft may have occurred due to insufficient caution. This is certainly not an indicator. Just as my experience is not a determinant when I am a too unattractive victim. The only jewelry I have is a wedding ring worth $200, and my most valuable items are specific and hard-to-sell work tools. Therefore, if someone wanted to rob me, the loot would most likely not justify the effort and risk involved. Of course, there is a risk that I will lose my laptop or a small amount of money due to a moment of inattention, but your research will make the most sense when you rely on police data on theft reports, including thefts from hotels. Probably the vast majority of thefts involve items worth several thousand dollars - realistically possible to steal in such circumstances, and yet valuable enough to undertake such actions. At the same time, these events have too little media coverage to be described anywhere except in police reports. Spectacular thefts of significant value are likely to be a small fraction of the total number of crimes of this type, although they may have a significant share in the total value of the loot.
https://euroweeklynews.com/2023/07/14/thieves-who-robbed-hotel-room-safes-arrested-in-alicante/
Yes - it seems to me that this case is much closer to typical events, but you will not get anywhere based on press information if you do not get comprehensive statistics of events of this type and analyze them in the context of the dynamics of crime changes in general. The fact that there was a road accident in my city today does not in any way indicate road safety.
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