University Essay: Cocooning, Crime Prevention, and Theory Application

This essay delves into cocooning as a crime prevention strategy specifically targeting repeat residential burglary. It begins by defining cocooning and its evolution as a policing technique rooted in crime prevention studies. The essay then explains the rational choice theory, highlighting its core principles and how individuals make decisions to maximize benefits. It discusses how rational choice theory can be applied to cocooning, suggesting that it helps individuals make informed choices to protect themselves from burglary. The essay further examines the practical application of cocooning, including victim support, neighborhood outreach, and crime prevention advice. It emphasizes the importance of measures like locking doors and reporting suspicious activities. The essay synthesizes evidence from academic sources to conclude whether cocooning is a successful strategy in preventing repeat residential burglary, emphasizing its effectiveness in reducing opportunities for criminal acts and manipulating the physical environment to deter crime.

Running head: COCOONING
Cocooning
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Cocooning refers to reactive strategy that offers protection from reoccurrence of the
residential burglary. It started in the middle of the year 1990 that forms a part of the crime
prevention study. It has undergone evolution and become an encompassing policing
technique in the present age (Weisburd, 2018). It is used like a standard tool that is used in
the case of situational prevention of the crime. This essay throws light on the aspect of
cocooning that is used as a crime prevention strategy in the case of residential burglary. This
essay discusses about rational choice theory and how it can be helpful in understanding about
the aspect of cocooning. This essay states how cocooning can help in the prevention of repeat
residential burglary.
In the event of cocooning, victim of burglary is seen in person and they are offered
with the crime prevention advice. The victims are provided with the reassurance that plays an
important role in preventing the crime.According to Eck and Weisburd (2015),the neighbours
of the victim are also visited and they are informed regarding the incidence of the recent
burglary. They are made known about the method of the crime and the property that has been
taken in the case of the crime. The neighbours are provided with the crime prevention advice
that helps in the case of repeat residential burglary.It has been argued by Weisburd and
McEwen (2015), thatcocooning acts as an activity that interfaces with that of community
raising awareness pertaining to the crime. Cocooning can help the people in becoming aware
regarding policing services. It can help them in taking the appropriate measures that can help
them in protecting their homes.
It has been found that a large number of burglaries take place on account of the
unlocked doors along with the windows. Cocooning helps the people in understanding about
the significance of locking their houses at all the times. The residents of a locality are
encouraged of reporting regarding any case of suspicious activity to the police. The burglars
have the tendency of targeting many houses within same street or various streets within same

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area (Wortley&Townsley, 2016). The burglars do not travel far from the home and they have
the habit of hitting the several houses within the close proximity. Cocooning should take
place within the 48 hours as it is the likely timeframe in which a burglar have the greatest
chance of returning.
The “cocoon” neighbourhood watch can play an important role in preventing the
occurrence of the residential burglary. According to Pegram et al. (2018),the group work
programmes can be immensely helpful in preventing burglary within a locality. A union of
the people can prove to be an effective means that can help in offering protection to the
houses from the incidences of burglary. It can help in making the people conscious that can
greatly help in reducing the occurrence of the crimes. Cocooning can serve an important
purpose and it can be effective in the prevention of vandalism or the petty crimes. There are
household level measures that are undertaken in the case of cocooning that proves to be
effective in the prevention of burglary. There are security measures that can be taken like the
deadlocks along with the window locks that can help in the prevention of cases of repeat
burglary. The security measures taken within the home has an effect on the aspect of the
victimisation rate across the countries (Stokes & Clare, 2019). There are various measures
that can be introduced like the burglar alarms, window locks along with the detection device
that can help in preventing the incidents of burglary.
Rational choice theory refers to a framework that helps in understanding and
modelling the social along with the economic behaviour. Basic premise of the theory is that
the rational choice theory can be said to be the aggregate of the social behaviour results that
takes place from behaviour of the individual actors.It has been argued by Groff and
Taniguchi (2019),rational choice theory assumes the fact that individuals in the society have
the preferences among that of the choice alternatives. The preferences that an individual have
can be said to be complete and it can also be transitive. Rational agent takes into account the

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available information along with the probabilities of the events that can play a significant role
in the determination of preferences in the society (Maguire, Brookman& Robinson, 2017).
Rationality is used for assuming the behaviour of the individuals within the microeconomic
model.
Rational choice theory can prove to be useful in understanding the aspect of
cocooning. According to Smallbone (2016), rational choice theory can be beneficial for
understanding about cocooning as it can help the people in depending on the rational outcome
that can help people in achieving the objectives. It can help in providing people with the
satisfaction that they have chosen a particular course of action on account of specific reasons.
The rational choice theory helps people in actively maximising the advantages in any kind of
situation that helps in minimising the aspect of the loss (Hess, Orthmann& Cho, 2016).
Rational choice theory stipulates the fact that the social phenomena are caused on account of
the individual human action.
Rational choice theory can be stated to be relevant for cocooning as it can help the
individuals in making the rational calculations that can help in preventing the cases of the
repeat burglary. It can help people in thinking about the loopholes that can pave the way for
burglary within a household. It can make the people aware that can help them in saving
themselves from the incidents of any kind of theft. The theory can prove to be beneficial as it
can help the people in acting on the basis of their self-interest that can prove to be
advantageous for the people in the society (Taylor, 2017). The rational choice theory can be
said to be compatible with the concept of altruism that can help in serving the individuals in
the society. Rational choice theory can be said to be crucial to cocooning as it can help a
person in adopting the utilitarian belief that can help in saving themselves from that of
incidents of repeat burglary.

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Crime can be said to be a purposive behaviour that can help in meeting the needs of
the offender. It can help a person in attaining things like money and the status. The rational
choice of the individuals can help the individuals in maximising the goals.According to
Shoemaker(2018), rational choice theory can help in understanding the motive of the
criminals and it makes the criminals carry out the devious acts. The choices are made by the
individuals that helps the people in reaching their aims in society. They want to elevate their
status within the society that makes them take recourse to the criminal acts of burglary. The
choices are controlled with the help of the perception of the individuals in the society. The
rational choice theory helps the people in understanding the mindset of the criminals that can
pave the path for providing safety to the individuals (Lilly, Cullen & Ball, 2018). The
rational choice theory helps the individuals in taking the necessary precautions that can help
them in saving themselves from that of the cases of the repeat burglary. The rational choice
theory can help a person in strengthening himself with the practices and the tools that can
serve the purpose of the individuals. The rational choice perspective sees the criminal
behaviour to be outcome of the decisions along with the choices that are made by an
offender. It proves to be a useful framework that helps in the analysis of the crime control
policies. It can help in the area of the crime displacement that can help in preventing the
criminal acts of burglary (Weisburd, 2018). Rational choice perspective states that modus
operandi of the criminals is influenced by the power of the decision making.
Cocooning can be said to be a successful crime prevention strategy that can help in
the prevention of that of repeat residential burglary. Cocooning can be said to be effective as
it can reduce the opportunities in relation to the criminal acts. It can play a crucial role in
manipulating the physical environment that can reduce the incidents of the crime. The crime
takes place in the event of clustering of the motivated offender, opportunity of offending and
absence of the guardian.According to Burke (2017), cocooning can help in reducing the

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opportunities of the criminals that can help in providing safety to the people in the
society.Cocooning can pave the path for the increasing of the formal surveillance that can
reduce opportunities in relation to the crime. Cocooning can help in strengthening the
physical barriers with the help of the window locks along with the double pane glass that can
help in providing safety to the people. It can help in restricting access in relation to tools of
the crime that can help in the prevention of that of repeat burglary. Cocooning can help in
maximising the natural surveillance that can help in avoiding the cases of the repeat burglary.
It can help in minimizing the number of the access points that can provide safety to people.
Cocooning can be said to a strategy that can protect the people from that of residential
burglary. Cocooning has become the policing technique that can help in preventing crimes.
The victims of the burglary are provided with that of crime prevention advice that helps in
preventing burglary. Victims are reassured that is instrumental in playing a significant role
that can reduce the rates of the crimes. The doors and the windows being unlocked paves the
path for the incidence of the burglary. Cocooning can make the people aware regarding the
importance of safety measures that can help in protecting the people. Rational choice theory
can be beneficial in understanding aspect of the cocooning. It can help the people in making
the decisions in a rational manner which can be useful for the people in reaching aim.
Cocooning can prove to be useful in preventing the repeat residential burglary. The
effectiveness of cocooning can be said to lie in the fact that it can reduce opportunities
pertaining to the criminal acts.

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References
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