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Super-Cocooning Against Property Crime: Do Visual Primes Affect Support and Does Race Matter

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  • Hunter M. Boehme

    (Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA)

  • Brandon Tregle

    (Excellence in Policing and Public Safety Program (EPPS), Joseph F. Rice School of Law, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA)

Abstract

American citizens are significantly more likely to experience property crime victimization than violent crime victimization. During a staffing crisis, police prioritize limited resources in combating serious crime; however, property crimes remain impactful to the community. Therefore, agencies need to consider innovative ways to control property crime, such as “super-cocooning” strategies that alert residents to recent offenses. These strategies intend to empower the community to implement guardianship and crime prevention measures. For these strategies to be effective, they require public buy-in and support. The present study implements a preregistered information provision survey experiment (N = 2412), similar to the strategy of super-cocooning, to assess whether the public is more likely to support such strategies to combat property crime. Although the sample held overall high support of this strategy, exposure to a super-cocooning door hanger prime produced no significant changes in perceived effectiveness. However, there was observed racial heterogeneity in the treatments: non-White respondents assigned to the treatment relative to White respondents experienced significantly increased support of super-cocooning strategies. Implications for light-footprint crime control strategies, particularly during a staffing crisis, are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Hunter M. Boehme & Brandon Tregle, 2025. "Super-Cocooning Against Property Crime: Do Visual Primes Affect Support and Does Race Matter," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:14:y:2025:i:7:p:429-:d:1700713
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Smith, Michael R. & Tillyer, Rob & Tregle, Brandon, 2024. "Hot spots policing as part of a city-wide violent crime reduction strategy: Initial evidence from Dallas," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Adams, Ian T. & Mourtgos, Scott M. & Nix, Justin, 2023. "Turnover in large US policing agencies following the George Floyd protests," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
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