Robbery
Defined:
The formal definition of
robbery is the taking or
attempt to take anything
of value from the care,
custody, or control of a
person or persons by
force or threat of force
or violence and/or
putting the victim in
fear. The necessary
elements of the crime
are specific intent,
theft from a person, by
use of force or
fear. The level of force
or fear does not have to
be great to meet the
statutory requirement.
Robbery Facts:
Robberies can
occur almost anywhere at
anytime, but tend to
occur more often in
anticipated settings and
at expected times. All
that is necessary is a
motivated robber and an
unwilling victim.
Robberies can occur in
private or public
places.
Robbers and their
victims can be friends,
relatives, or total
strangers. Most
robberies involve 1
robber and 1 victim and
the crime from start to
finish lasts less than a
minute
Robbery Locations:
Most people think of
robberies as having to
do with banks (2.1%) or
at late night
establishments like gas
stations, or convenience
stores (8.3%) where a
weapon is used to force
the employee to hand
over money. However
most robberies occur on
the street (44.5%)
directly against a
person, and are called a
strong-arm robbery. When
someone uses force or
fear against you to
steal your car, it's
called carjacking. When
someone robs you in your
home it's called
home invasion
robbery. A shoplifter
can also commit the
crime of robbery if they
fight with store
personal trying to stop
them.
Robbery Rate:
According to the 2007
FBI Uniform Crime
Reports, 447.403
robberies were reported
to the police at the
rate of one per minute
in the United
States. This is an
increase of 7.2% over
2006. Robberies varied
according to region with
the Southern States
having the highest
percentage of 38.3%, the
Western States 23.6% the
Northeastern States
18.5% and the Midwestern
States at 19.5%.
Robbery rates did not
vary drastically from
month-to-month, however,
August and October had
the highest rate with
February and April
having the lowest rates.
Robbery Is A
Violent Crime:
The weapon of choice for
robbers is the firearm
(42.2%) with knives or
cutting instruments
second (8.6%),
Strong-arm tactics like
pushing, punching,
kicking, or threats are
used mainly on the
street (39.9%). Robbers
like to use surprise and
an extreme show of force
to get victims to comply
with their demands.
Unfortunately, victims
don't always act as
planned when surprised
and frightened and
sometimes do things to
startle the robber.
Robbers that are
startled have been known
to injure or kill their
victims as a result.
Robbery Times:
The crime of robbery
mainly takes place at
night, increasing after
8:00 PM and subsiding
after 3:00 AM in most
areas. Robberies often
increase during the
winter months due to
extended periods of
darkness. Dozens of
robbery studies have
shown that robbers like
isolation, prefer lone
victims, good escape
routes, and few
witnesses in addition to
a good score.
