NCJ Number
83417
Date Published
Unknown
Length
77 pages
Annotation
This report describes recent trends and patterns in robbery, presents a framework for analyzing the potential effects of a variety of policy interventions, and develops detailed outlines for several robbery research projects.
Abstract
National Crime Survey (NCS) data and police data reported by the FBI both indicate that robbery rates peaked in 1975, and after a brief decline, they were climbing again by 1979. Between 1976 and 1979, police classified a roughly constant 10 percent of all criminal homicides as robbery murders. The robbery problem is concentrated in urban areas, and a recent survey of crime in the Nation's junior and senior high schools estimated 1 million robberies per year in these facilities. Direct economic losses to robbery victims (not including murders) are about $.33 billion. A recent survey of prison inmates found that among those who reported committing robberies in the 3 years prior to their incarceration, the median annual commission rate was 4.8, and the 90th percentile rate was 86. Recommended robbery research projects include (1) examination of the huge disparity in in-school robbery estimates between the Safe Schools Study and the NCS, (2) an identification of the characteristics of robbers and robbery circumstances that are conducive to victim injury or death, (3) an examination of the effectiveness of hidden cameras in deterring commercial robberies and means for promoting their wider use, and (4) an analysis of the reasons for the growth in bank robbery rates. The appendix analyzes several methodological issues pertaining to interrupted time series analysis, a technique that is being used with increasing frequency by criminologists evaluating the effect of interventions on robbery and related crimes. Tabular data and about 100 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)