By Shaun Smillie
One in three house robbers have murdered and on average they commit 104 crimes before the law finally catches up with them. And with each crime perpetrated over an average period of seven-and-a-half years, they become more and more violent.
This is the disturbing profile of a convicted house robber revealed in a study conducted by senior forensic investigation lecturer at Unisa, Dr Rudolph Zinn.
It was a research project that left Zinn, an ex-police officer, shocked at how willing this category of criminal was to resort to violence.
House robberies are on the increase; they have risen by more than 13,5 percent in the last year, according to police. In total, almost 15 000 house robberies were committed last year, half of them in Gauteng. But until Zinn's research, little was known about this brand of criminal.
Zinn found that most house robbers are aged between 19 and 26, but that their criminal careers, began when they were in their teens.
"I discovered that the youngest person committing house robberies was 12. I also found that the younger the person when they began their life of crime, the more violent they were later in life," explained Zinn.
In the course of his two-year long research project, Zinn interviewed 30 convicted house robbers who were serving time in six high security prisons around Gauteng.
"I found that 30 percent of them had murdered while committing a house robbery. They simply said that they have to use violence. I think those criminals who respect human life would probably stop before they become house robbers, " said Zinn.
His study also exposed the myth that most house robbers were black and foreign.
"About 17 percent of them were foreigners, the rest came from all race groups and cultures across South Africa," he explained.
They were, however, generally from poor backgrounds.
About 90 percent had not got a matric and most, Zinn found, were unemployed.
"I found a small group who were employed, but they gave up their jobs, when they found out just how much they could make.
"One of them told me he makes more money in five minutes than I do in a month," he said.
Another myth dispelled was that their victims were mainly white.
Their targets were usually affluent home owners who displayed their wealth with jewellery, double storey residences and fancy cars.
Their modus operandi, Zinn's subjects told him, revolved around gathering intelligence about their intended victims, usually from a domestic worker.
"If they don't have inside information, they will keep the house under observation for a long time.
"They might send an accomplice into the house to check it out, he might pretend he is there to inspect TV licences."
Part of their reconnaissance also includes establishing which security firms operate in the area, how often they patrol and how long it takes for them to react to a call out.
The observation of their victims continue right up until they are ready to commit their crime, often they will hide in the garden watching the house.
"They strike when their victims are still awake, at night or in the morning. They use the noise of TV sets, or cooking as cover. At this time they told me, most people haven't armed their alarms," Zinn explained.
Usually four members make up a house robbery gang. The modus operandi is for one of the gang members to gain access through a small window. The tools used to break in, are usually scavenged from the home owner's shed. House robbers, Zinn's research found, don't carry house breaking tools, as they believe it makes it easier for police to spot them while they make their way to their target.
The random use of excessive violence has so puzzled researchers that currently, says Zinn, several academics are conducting studies to try and ascertain why.
Zinn would not disclose, for security reasons, just how much on average house robbers would make from a robbery. He has, however, been able to break down what they spend their money on.
"Easy come, easy go is what one of them said. Most of their earnings are spent on luxuries, branded clothing, parties and prostitutes."