The pilot study was conducted in the Federal Republic of Germany. It used an interview instrument consisting of 25 questions, together with 183 slides and 183 color prints showing 18 buildings and their surroundings. The buildings included single-family and multifamily homes and a shop. The study participants were convenience samples consisting of 20 experienced burglars, 10 police officers knowledgeable about burglary, and 32 members of the general public. Subjects were individually shown the pictures and asked whether the building would induce an experienced burglar to break and enter. Content analysis of the more than 2,600 free comments showed that the buildings differed in the degree to which they were seen to encourage break-ins. Study participants varied in their perceptions, but at least one offender viewed each building as clearly encouraging a break-in. In addition, the houses that had actually been burglarized were more often seen to encourage break-ins. Burglars often differed from the police in their perceptions, however. The noncriminal group's responses were similar in many ways to those of the others, suggesting that common sense is an important element in criminal knowledge. Tables and 6 references.