Unlike earlier studies of residential burglary, which collected data from small numbers of offenders within a prison environment, this ground-breaking work interviewed a larger sample of unincarcerated burglars, who were all identified and contacted without the assistance of criminal justice agencies or authorities. Consequently, the authors believe they were able to obtain more honest and forthright responses from the offenders. They were also able to study the burglars' decisionmaking processes within the context of streetlife culture. The study considers motivations for the decision to burglarize a dwelling, explores how and why the burglar selects targets, examines how the offender executes the break-in, discusses strategies for searching a residence, and details the ways in which the burglar disposes of stolen goods. The authors found that the offenders' need to support activities such as drinking and drug-taking often shape the decision to commit a residential break-in. They also determined the burglars rarely consider risks or the threat of sanctions. The study concludes with a discussion that considers the implications of the authors' findings for theories on criminal decisionmaking, crime prevention policy, and field research. 2 tables, 2 figures, 87 references, and subject index