Criminologist here -- both baron and Emma are right! (The question is moreso in terms of rates, you can find anecdotes confirming either behavior.) Two of my f

Criminologist here -- both baron and Emma are right! (The question is moreso in terms of rates, you can find anecdotes confirming either behavior.) Two of my favorite related articles: - Serendipity in robbery target selection[1]. Interviews with chronic robbers talks about how they cruise around looking for marks. They are strategic though in their "foraging". - The role of territoriality in crime prevention: A field experiment[2]. Experiment with leaving a $10 gift card on a desk in Uni library. (So similar to here, unlikely people going to library intending to steal.) There were thefts - in one condition 1/30 people who passed by nicked the card. Since a single chronic offender can commit many crimes, the current patterns of car break ins in cities are IMO likely driven by a small number of "professional" offenders, moreso than victim behavior. [1] http://www.d-ddaily.com/images/6-1-15_Serendipity%20in%20Robbery%20Target%20Selection%20Jacobs%202010.pdf http://www.d-ddaily.com/images/6-1-15_Serendipity%20in%20Rob... [2] https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1301910/1/Wortley_%26_McFarlane_2011_territoriality.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1301910/1/Wortley_%26_...