NCJ Number
231083
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 50 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2010 Pages: 514-529
Date Published
May 2010
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the role of serendipity, chance circumstances that align to energize predatory conduct, in the robbery target selection process.
Abstract
The authors of this paper found that serendipity has a real, and sometimes significant effect, on the decisionmaking process of robbery offenders. Previous research on robberies has found that robberies are generally low-level and impulsive acts that rarely involve advance planning. This paper explores the idea that serendipity, finding something valuable while engrossed in something else, plays an important role in the robbery target selection process. The existence of serendipity in a robbery requires that offenders both make, and let, events occur. The paper examines the difference between serendipity and opportunity in a robbery and how both of these are affected by impulsivity. Data for this paper were obtained from semi-structured interviews with 57 un-incarcerated robbery offenders from a large Midwestern metropolitan area. On average, the respondents were in their twenties, African-American, unmarried, and not high school graduates. All respondents were recruited for the study due to their prior experience with drug robbery and carjacking. References