NCJ Number
223634
Date Published
2008
Length
70 pages
Annotation
This 2005 Annual Report of Australia’s National Armed Robbery Monitoring Program (NARMP) presents an overview of the 7,210 victims of armed robbery and the situations, including the locations, that made them vulnerable to victimization.
Abstract
There was an 8-percent increase in the number of armed-robbery victims compared with 2004. Knives composed just over half of the weapons involved in these victimizations; 7 percent of armed robberies involved handguns. Just under half of all victims were robbed in some type of retail location. Males 18-19 years old had the highest rates of victimization for armed robbery. Fourteen percent of offenders were known to the victims. Just under one-third (30 percent) of all armed robbery incidents occurred on the street. Sixty-five percent of armed robberies occurred between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am. They were only slightly more likely to occur on a weekend. On average, armed robbery offenders netted $1,232 per incident. Armed robberies were of two general types. One type was low-yield, unplanned, and essentially opportunistic, especially in terms of weapons. This constituted the majority of street robberies. The other type of armed robbery was high-gain, using weapons more difficult to obtain, and targeting specific retail sites, mostly hotels and pubs. The latter incidents were more likely to involve firearms and groups of offenders. It is still unclear from the data as to whether robberies in pubs are a relatively new phenomenon. Over 3 years of data collection under the NARMP, they have become more frequent. The NARMP began in 2003, following a commitment from all police services in Australian States and Territories to provide the detailed information required under the NARMP. 3 figures, 27 tables, 15 references, and appended glossary and NARMP methodology and limitations