Modus Operandi – Opportunity Patterns in Burglary

The recently published police crime statistics highlight a mixed trend in the development of residential burglaries over recent years (BMI 2025): On the one hand, there has been a steady decline since 2014 (17,110 cases) to an all-time low of 4,691 reports in 2021. On the other hand, since then, there has been a rise in the number of reported burglaries in flats and in cellars. In 2024, 6,930 reports of burglaries in flats and residential properties were made to the police. The current rise affects burglaries in newer residential complexes, older flats, and detached, semi-detached and terraced houses alike.

The Modus Operandi project provided insights into the world of the perpetrators, analysing patterns of opportunity, motives and burglary techniques.

Research methods: Exploratory interviews with experts from the police investigation service and the Crime Prevention Department of the Vienna Police Department; qualitative content analysis of 30 court files (anonymised) and 35 qualitative interviews with convicted and incarcerated offenders (the latter formed the core of the study).

Between November 2024 and January 2025, 35 qualitative interviews were conducted with convicted and incarcerated offenders in a total of seven prisons in Austria. The following topics were discussed with the offenders: decisions regarding intent and execution in the context of burglary; observation and reconnaissance during the selection of targets; access to the target property and escape routes; the impact of security measures; accomplices and information gathering; social control by the neighbourhood; preferred loot; considerations beyond rational risk management: thrill, excitement, self-affirmation.

The interviews were transcribed and analysed using the thematic analysis method developed by Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2021). The findings were presented to an audience of criminology experts at EUROCRIM 2025 – the 25th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (3–6 September 2025, Athens). Furthermore, the findings on “situational crime prevention” were published in academic journals (Stummvoll, G. und Rosenauer P. (2026). Modus Operandi – Einbruchsdiebstahl in Österreich. In: SIAK Journal – Zeitschrift für Polizeiwissenschaft und polizeiliche Praxis. Bundesministerium für Inneres, Sicherheitsakademie. Wien) and recommendations on burglary protection were published in a report. (all publications in German)

Scientific Report