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Robbery Victims U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics n Robbery Victims by Caroline Wolf Harlow, Ph. D. April 1987 or more incidents of a similar nature BJS Sta tistician about which the victim cannot provide Robbery ranks among the most separate details. (See Methodology for From 1973 through 1984 approximately serious 8.nd feared criminal further details.) 14,681,100 robbery victimizations oc­ offenses because it involves both curred in the United states-an average threatened or actual violence and In a robbery one or mor,e offenders of about 1,223,400 per year-according loss of property to the victim. It threa ten or Use force to take a person's to the National Crime Survey (NCS). also occurs much more frequently property. Whether called a stickup, Two-thirds of the victims of these rob­ than either rape or homicide. holdup, mugging, or robbery, this crime beries had property stolen, and. a third Although many robberies do not is feared for both its actual and pos­ were injured; nearly a fourth suffered result in physical harm to the sible violence. Among commonly meas­ both injury and property loss. victim or extensive loss, fully 1 in ured crime$., only hOfIjlcide and rape Other maj01' findings include: 3 involve actual injury, ranging exceed it in severity. Unlike many from bruises and black eyes to other violent crimes, however, robbery ta About 1 in 12 robbery victims experi­ life-threatening gunshot or knife also shares the characteristics of a enced serious injuries such as rape, wounds, and 1 in 8 involve thefts property crime since it involves an knife or gunshot wounds, broken bones, of $250 or more. attempted or completed theft of per- or being knocked unconscious, This special report presents a so nal prope rty • III About half of all completed robberies detailed analysis of twelve years of National Crime Survey data on Robbery often occurs in conjunction involved losses of $82 or less; 10% in­ with other crimes. From 1976 through volved losses of $800 or more. Most robbery. Along with our other BJS 1984, for example, between 9.3% and theft losses .were never recovered. reports from this extemely rich da ta series, this study expands our 10.8% of all homicides were perpetra­ • Offenders displayed weal?Ons in knowledge of the extent and ted wit~ robbery as the circumstance or almost half of all robberies; they had character of crime in the United motive. Three pet'cent of robbery vic­ guns in about 1 in 5. Offenders with states and its impact on victims. tims between 1973 and 1984 were also weapons were more likely to threaten steven R. Schlesinger raped; 8% suffered a burglary; and 4%, than a ttack their victims. Director a motor vehicle theft. e In almost 9 out of 10 robbery victim­ izations, robbers were male; in about Major incident characteristics half, they were black or worked in • Robbery ra tes declined by 15% from On average, 1,223,400 persons were groups of 2 or more. 1973 to 1984, largely because of a de­ cline in attempted robberies. robbed annually between 1973 and e Blacks experienced robberies at 2 1/2 1984-a rate of almost 7 robberies for times the rate for whites; the rate for • Robbery victims were more likely every 1,000 persons 12 years of age and male victims Was twice the rate foi' fe­ than rape or assault victims to encoun­ older in the United sta tes (table 1). male victims. ter multiple offenders, strangers, or • Over half of all rObbery victims were offenders with weapons. Thirty-three percent of victims a ttacked. Female robbery victims were suffered injuries: 8% experienced such Robbery: violent crime and property serious injuries as rape, attempted more likely to be attacked than were crime male victims; victims 65 and older were rape, knife or gunshot wounds, broken more likely to be attacked than-victims bones, being knocked unconscious, or under 65. Data for this report cover all per­ other injuries requiring at least 2 days S9nal robberies reported to the NOS IThe Severity of Crime, BJS Bulletin, NCJ-92326, e Victims who were attacked were from 1973 through 1984. Included are January 1984. more likely to be injuI'ed if they were robberies committed during completed 2FBl, Crime in the United States, contains annual female, if the incident occurred at Ol' attempted ~pes, personal robberies statistics on homicides known to police. The FSl ni!:rht, if there was more than one of­ occurring during commercial robberies, started publishing its table on murder circumstances fender, or jf a weapon was present. and series victimizations, that is, three and motives in 1976. hosl?italization; 25% incurred minor Table 1. Type of robbery victimizations, 1973-84 :l1juries such as bru ises, black ('j'es, or cuts. Robberl victimizations Average Average Just under two-thirds of robberies annual annual were completed; that is, offenders suc­ Type of robbery number rate" Percent ceeded in taking cash, property, or both Total 1,223,400 6.9 100% from their victims. The average theft loss was $447. About half of all thefts, Completed 775,200 4.4 63% however, involved losses of about $82 With injury 282,700 1.6 23 or less, and 44% were for less than Serious 77,600 .4 6 Minor 205,100 1.2 17 $50. The highest 10% of thefts were Without injury 492,500 2.8 40 for $800 or more. Attempted 448,300 2.5 37% With injury 124,900 .7 10 Serious 23,900 .1 2 Value Percent of Minor 101,100 .6 8 of completed Without injury 323,300 1.8 26 stolen robberies, property Note: Percentages may not add to total because of rounding. 1973-84 "Number of robbery victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 and older. Total 100% r--- Less than $10 18 Table 2. Value of theft losses, damages, Table 3. Characteristics of robbery $10-49 26 and recoveries in robbery victimizations, offenders, 1973-84 1973-84 $50-249 32 Percent of $250-999 13 Value Perceived offender robbery vic- $1000 and Actual loss characteristics timizations above 6 Constant at time 100% 1984 dollars Sex Don't know/not of robbery Male 89 ascertained 5 Female 5 $4,426,627,000 Losses $3,201,259,600 Both 4 Thefts The total value of stolen and Race 100% Cash 933,244,200 659,158,100 damaged cash and property over the 12- Property 3,221,268,300 2,349,311,200 White 36 year period a moun ted to $4.4 billion in Black 51 Damages 272,114,500 192,790,30U Other 4 constant. 1984 dollars, or $3.2 billion in Mixed races 4 actual loss to the victim (table 2). Recoveries $1,133,92S,';uu $782,000,700 Age 100% About a fourth of this loss, $1.1 billion, Cash 42,410,900 29,458,100 20 and YOl!nger 41 was recovered by the victims. When Property 1,091,517,500 752,542,600 21 and older 44 cash was stolen, relatively little was Mixed ages 9 recovel'ed (5%). On the other hand, Net loss $3,292,698,600 $2,419,258,800 Number of offenders 100% 34% of the value of other property was Note: Amounts may not add to total because Single 47 recovered, excluding anything received of rounding. Multiple 51 from insurance. This high rate was due Relationship to victim 100% to recovering motor vehicles. Stranger 75 Major offender and victim Acquaintance 7 Damages, only 6% of the total loss, ).·e­ characteristics Relative 13 sulted from forcible entry into homes and assaults on victims. Note: Percentages may not add to total In almost 9 out of 10 victimizations, because of rounding and omission of the robbers were male; in about half "don't know" and "not ascertained" categories Offenders displayed weapons in from table display. almost half of all robberies; guns, they were black; and a higher propor­ generally considered the most frighten­ tion were 21 years old and over than were under 21 (table 3). In the majority non-Hispanics, although most victims ing weapon, were displayed in a fi fth of of victimizations two or more offenders all robberies. were non-Hispanic. worked together. Typically, they were not known by their victims. Almost half of robbery victims were under 25 years of age. Victims in the Weapon use in robbery victimizations Robbery victims were primarily three youngest age groups, 12-15, 16- male and white-65% were male, and Total 100% 19, and 20-24, had essentially the same 75% wel'€ white (table 4). They robbery rate, which was substantially No weapon 39% included a disproportionate share of higher than ra tes for persons in older Any weapon 49% persons who had never married, those age groups. As people aged they were Gun 20 with low incomes, and residents of less likely to be victimized. Knife 17 central cities. Other 13 Persons separated or divorced and, Don't know/not Robbery ra tes for males were twice to a lesser extent, those who had never ascertained 12% as high as those for females (9.3 vs. 4.6 married were disproportionately vic­ per 1,000). Although ~hree-quarters of timized. Married persons had the all victims were white~ robbery victimi­ lowest robbery ra tes. zation rates were almost 2 1/2 times higher for blacks as for whites (14.2 vs. Robbery ra tes decreased as family 5.9 per 1,000). As, with blacks, robbery income increased. Those with incomes rates were higher for Hispanics than for under $7,500 experienced both the high- 2 est rates and the greatest percentage Table 4.
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