Why robbery happens

Robbery is also distinct from theft because the defendant must use or threaten force or violence. Knocking a person down or pulling something out of someone's hands are both examples of force. While state law varies, the following may be considered using force or violence:.

The threat does not have to be stated explicitly. For example, it could be considered force or violence for a person to motion to his pocket, suggesting he is carrying a gun. In many states, robbery is divided into categories such as first degree and second degree, or aggravated and simple , depending on the seriousness of the offense.

Or, different types of robbery may be set forth in different statutes. More serious types of robbery might include:. Both objects designed to be used as weapons, such as clubs, and everyday objects that are used in a way that could seriously hurt someone, such as a brick used to hit a person in the head, can be considered deadly weapons in most states.

Sometimes, robberies committed by people who are armed with firearms are punished more severely than robberies committed by people armed with other deadly weapons.

For more information on robbery using weapons, see Armed Robbery. All types of robberies are serious crimes. Robbery is almost always a felony , punishable by at least one year in prison, regardless of the value of the items taken. Most states punish aggravated robbery quite harshly, including armed robbery, carjacking, and home invasion robbery. Sentences of ten or 20 years in prison or more are common.

If you are charged with robbery, no matter what type, you should talk to a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. An attorney can explain the legal process to you and determine the best course of action to follow depending on the charges against you, the law in your state, and how your case is likely to be treated by the local judge and prosecutor.

An attorney can tell you if you are in a good position to get the charges reduced or dismissed, obtain a good plea bargain, or go to trial. This guide's response section addresses some of these opportunity-reducing strategies.

Victim demographics are informative, but it is vital to understand how they relate to routine activities and risk. Finding that minorities have a heightened risk of street robbery in your community is helpful only as a first step. You still have to discover why. Perhaps the minorities are undocumented workers whom offenders rob because the victims often work in unfamiliar neighborhoods, carry cash and won't report the crime to the police.

This scenario shows how linking demographics to routines could reveal intervention points that would otherwise have gone unnoticed by examining demographics alone. Demographic information also identifies less- promising responses.

Property-marking for cell phones and MP3 players, for instance, might not reduce street robberies in areas where most victims are senior citizens who carry cash but not electronic gadgets. For prevention purposes, it is useful to look at victims from the robber's perspective. Five characteristics of potential victims appear particularly critical, and the acronym VALUE summarizes them.

V ulnerable. Offenders prefer targets they can intimidate, subdue or overpower. For example, senior citizens or those unlikely to report their victimization to the police e. Some targets, however, might be less vulnerable than initially perceived and able to defend themselves from an attack. In fact, using protective measures to resist robbery helped over half of U.

A ttractive. Target attractiveness is in the eye of the robber. Therefore, attractiveness is not universal. Other robbers, however, might associate attractiveness with less tangible features and prefer attacking people of a particular sex, racial, or ethnic group.

L acking awareness. Street robbers could perceive people who are distracted e. U ncomplicated. Offenders probably consider the ease of approaching targets. A potential target seen at a distance is likely less interesting than one nearby.

How complex the robber perceives completing the robbery to be depends on the form of attack confrontation, blitz, con, or snatch-theft the robber usually uses. E scapable.

Offenders probably consider the ease of fleeing from targets. Robbers might altogether avoid targets they believe will chase them or use blitzes to disable them physically. Robbers might care less about escaping when some targets e. In this case, robbers might use a confrontation, a con or a snatch-theft because they don't think they have to immobilize the target.

Though considered separately, offenders probably consider VALUE as a package rather than a checklist. From a prevention perspective, however, VALUE can reveal potential countermeasures to protect possible victims. Street robbers prefer specific locations. Often, situational features make some locations appear more attractive or suitable for committing street robbery.

Offenders might consider the type of location and the characteristics and routines of the people there. Furthermore, offenders prefer locations where they can blend in with the natural "flow" and easily escape. Overall, offenders' journey to crime is relatively short and usually overlaps with their route to and from home. Pedestrian volume also influences where street robberies occur. Figure 2 illustrates the relationship between street pedestrian density and robbery: as a person moves from a center of high pedestrian activity, the number of people on the street declines.

Many targets are near the center of activity, but so are high guardianship levels. Far from the center, guardianship is nearly absent, but targets are also scarce.

In between these extremes, there are some robbery targets and relatively little guardianship: this is the robbery zone. The size and location of the robbery zone will vary by time of day and other routine schedules. A transit node at rush hour will push the robbery zone away because of the commuter influx. Late at night, the robbery zone may encroach on the transit node.

At other times, it may disappear altogether if there are so few targets around that robbers ignore the area. We can summarize robbery offenders' ideal locations with the acronym NEAR. Robbers are more attracted to small areas that fit these characteristics.

N atural guardianship. As mentioned, dense pedestrian and vehicle traffic increase guardianship and increase the risks for street robbers, so they prefer areas where targets are relatively unguarded. Areas with dense pedestrian and vehicle traffic, however, could thwart detection by helping offenders blend into the environment after the robbery. However, robbers may select quicker and less-obvious attack modes in dense pedestrian areas compared with less-dense areas.

E scape routes. Not only do robbers need to consider their ability to escape from a victim, but also they want routes that provide a quick escape from the crime scene. A rea familiarity. Robbers prefer familiar areas over unfamiliar areas. Being familiar with an area facilitates planning decisions and escape strategies.

Familiarity also makes it easier to predict the routines of targets, guardians and police. R esale opportunities for stolen goods. Robbers who steal noncash items for resale want to get cash and quickly dispose of evidence of the crime.

Thus, robbers consider areas close to resale opportunities more desirable than areas farther away. When robbers steal only cash, they don't fear getting caught as much. Routines influence robbery-timing patterns because routines bring robbers and targets together at locations, or they separate robbers from targets.

Disruptions to routines can also influence robbery patterns. Understanding routines and disruptions is critical for understanding temporal robbery patterns. Many types of routines can influence robbery patterns. Here, we list only some of the most common. Routines vary from city to city and neighborhood to neighborhood because some areas have special routines that others don't. S pecial events. Special events, like sports games, festivals and marathons, draw a lot of nonresidents to unfamiliar areas.

Visitors might inadvertently make decisions that increase their risk of victimization e. Event-goers also have several characteristics that make them attractive robbery targets: some drink and become less aware of their immediate surroundings, many stay out later than usual, and they likely have cash or other CRAVED items. Finally, police might close normal travel routes to accommodate event traffic. Some pedestrians might take less-familiar and riskier routes.

H olidays. Certain holidays [e. Victims might also be more vulnerable during holidays on which they might consume larger amounts of alcohol, such as New Year's Eve and the United States' St. A nnual routines. Holiday breaks may also influence robbery patterns, either by removing students from robbery-prone areas, or by shifting their activities from relatively safe to relatively unsafe areas.

Restitution for Crime Victims. Receiving Immunity for Testimony in a Criminal Case. Classification of Criminal Offenses. Drug Crimes. Criminal Attempt, Conspiracy, and Aiding and Abetting. Federal Crimes, Cybercrimes, and Juvenile Crimes. Auto Theft. Traffic Offenses. Violent Crimes. White Collar Crimes.

Alcohol Crimes. Parole and Probation. Expungement and Sealing of Criminal Records. Offenses Included in Other Crimes. Derivative Responsibility for Crimes. Working with a Criminal Lawyer. Find a Criminal Law Lawyer. Justia Legal Resources.