NCJ Number
186251
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 37 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2000 Pages: 284-305
Date Published
August 2000
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article compares acquaintance robberies with the typical robbery involving strangers.
Abstract
More than one-third of the robberies reported in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) involve people who are acquainted with each other in some way. The study examined NCVS data and found that people who were Black, poor, young, and single were particularly vulnerable to acquaintance robbery. Their vulnerability was attributed to opportunity factors, and for youth, a reluctance to report incidents to the police. Some acquaintance robberies may have been expressions of grievances, whereas others may have involved inside information about what the victim was carrying. Acquaintance robbery offers the offender special financial incentives and poses special risks. School-age youths and poor Blacks--demographic groups vulnerable to criminal victimization generally--are, as noted above, also particularly vulnerable to acquaintance robbery. The article suggests that future criminological research should examine further the special dynamics of acquaintance robbery. Tables, notes, references