The authors draw on in-depth interviews with admitted burglars as well as their own criminal justice experience to identify the social, psychological, and environmental factors that encourage burglary. The study shows how the social regulation of individuals' time, the ways in which postwar suburban planning and architecture conflict with current lifestyles, and reactive techniques of supervising convicted burglars all contribute to the crime. Trends that have made suburban homes more accessible and attractive to burglars are expanded transportation links between inner cities and suburbs, the expansion of low-skilled jobs in the suburbs, expanded low-income suburban housing, and the increase in the number of women entering the workplace. The latter trend has left many homes empty most of the day. Empty suburban houses behind privacy fences and hedges provide ideal opportunities for residential burglars. The increase in suburban burglary, however, has not been uniform. This book examines two suburban areas: Delaware County, a suburb of Philadelphia; and Greenwich, Conn., a suburb of New York City. This analysis identifies the factors that influence a burglar's choice of houses to burglarize. A 153-item bibliography and author and subject indexes