Program Goals/Program Components
One of the most common forms of victimization among academic institutions (such as universities and colleges) is property crime (Chernoff 2019). At Southeastern Louisiana University, in Fayard Hall (which houses several academic departments), one item that was often stolen from classrooms was dry erase markers. A randomized experimental study was used to test the effects of a situational theft prevention strategy to decrease the number of markers removed from classrooms.
The anti-theft strategy involved placing new dry erase markers that were labeled as “Property of Fayard Hall.” The experiment included 22 classrooms, 11 of which received the anti-theft strategy (i.e., that labeled dry erase markers), and 11 that served as the control group (these classrooms also received new dry erase markers, but with no labels or modifications). The dry erase markers were placed in classrooms on Friday afternoon, after all classes had ended for the week, to avoid detection by students, faculty, and other staff. The markers were retrieved exactly 3 weeks later, to determine how many had been taken from the classrooms and how many had been left alone.
Program Theory
There were several criminological theories underlying the experiment. Cohen and Felson’s (1979) routine activities theory maintains that there needs to be a person motivated to commit a crime, a suitable target, and the absence of capable guardians for a crime to occur. Further, Clarke (2000) proposed the CRAVED model, which suggests that individuals may consider objects to be suitable targets if they are concealable, removable, available, valuable, enjoyable, and disposable. Thus, dry erase markers would be suitable targets because they are lightweight and small in size, easily removable from classrooms, and often kept in unattended locations. Although not high in monetary value, dry erase markers may also provide value in other ways, such as in support of enjoyable activities (Chernoff 2019).
Finally, the experiment was based on the idea that a person would be less likely to steal property or objects if they were “easy to identify.” Identifying property involves marking an item so that it visibly indicates to whom the item rightfully belongs (Clarke 1997). Identifying property is one of the 25 techniques of situational crime prevention, as described by Cornish and Clarke (2003), who argued that crime can be reduced by increasing the effort and risk, reducing the rewards and provocations, removing excuses, or some combination of those ideas. Therefore, to deter potential theft, the dry erase markers were labeled as “Property of Fayard Hall.”
