Why are some things stolen more than others – what makes them ‘hot’? Understanding Theft of ‘Hot Products’ is the title of a US document, from the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police series COPS, from the US Department of Justice. To read the 55-page guide in full visit – http://www.ucl.ac.uk/scs/scs-news-publication/understanding-theft-of-hot-products.
Visit also www.cops.usdoj.gov. For all available POP Guides, see the US Center for Problem-Oriented Policing website – www.popcenter.org.
Briefly, the online guide goes over what makes particular products attractive to thieves (hot), gives pointers on securing them, and discusses the methods by which hot products can be identified and monitored. It summarises the research on hot products and identifies some concepts in understanding theft problems. The guide does not review in any detail research concerned with other types of
crimes that might involve ‘hot’ products such as fraud, hacking, tampering, counterfeiting, or vandalism. The guide draws on literature from around the world besides the US.
Since World War II, there has been a huge increase in valuable everyday products that people own—for example, cell phones, credit cards, cameras, and laptop and tablet computers. Many of these are hot products that are targeted by thieves, and their widespread availability contributes to, or can even generate, a crime problem. When faced with a mini-crime wave, whether of burglary, shoplifting, street robbery, or any other theft problem, you should analyse what products are stolen. This can be critical to addressing acquisitive crime as it can help you discover the most likely groups of thieves and identify responses.
The guide offers the concept of CRAVED –
Concealable (Things that are small enough to quickly hide or those that may be taken without attracting attention)
Removable (Things that are easy to carry or are themselves mobile)
Available (Things that are more likely to be abundant and accessible in one way or another)
Valuable (Things that are valuable, particularly when thieves intend to sell the stolen items)
Enjoyable (Things that are enjoyable (e.g., laptops) more so than those that are more functional (e.g., refrigerators); and
Disposable (Things that are easy to trade, sell for cash, or that can be used immediately without risk)
Hot products have one or more of these qualities and, as a rule of thumb, the more an item has the more likely it will be coveted by thieves. Examples of highly CRAVED items include cash, mobile phones, multimedia devices, and jewelry. Still CRAVED, but perhaps with some difficulties to overcome are bicycles (which can be difficult to conceal but, once taken are highly removable); disposable razors (which are more functional than enjoyable, and not particularly valuable, although they are expensive for a disposable product); and larger household goods, such as televisions, microwaves, and desktop computers (which are harder to conceal and remove).
Internet sites such as eBay, Craigslist, and Amazon are less regulated environments in which to sell products, including stolen ones, online. For instance, these sites do not require proof of lawful ownership to sell products via the website. You might investigate hot products being sold on these sites locally to seek intelligence on potential stolen goods markets. To help combat theft, eBay has formed partnerships with police agencies to search for stolen goods up for auction and report any suspicious activity to police. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are also good intelligence sources on shoplifting activity. Retailers have used these sites to gather information on perpetrators, their networks, and where stolen goods are stored or sold.
