In Armed Robbers in Action: Stickups and Street Culture, the authors, Richard T. Wright and Scott H. Decker wanted to know: “What makes someone put a gun to someone’s head and demand money? How do they decide to commit armed robberies? What does it feel like to participate in armed robberies? Why do they target certain people? How do they convince people to obey their commands? (p.3-4)” In previous studies on armed robberies, researchers would interview people in jail who had been arrested for committing robberies. The authors of this study took a different approach and interviewed 86 active robbers. Active robbers were defined as committing an offense in the past month. The study included both men and women, blacks and whites, and individuals
…show more content…
Many of the participants would rob other people that were involved in illegal activities such as drug dealing. They know that drug dealers carry a large number of cash on themselves and there is also a possibility that they will have drugs on them as well. Another reason that they rob drug dealers is because they know that they will not seek help from the law. Many offenders stated that they preferred white victims because they typically did not put up a big fight. They chose people within a certain area in fear of being caught, usually staying in familiar areas. Some chose people in poor neighborhoods and others went downtown to look for targets. Some stayed near banks and similar businesses such as ATMs. One of the factors leading to whether to rob a certain person was the proximity to an escape route. This includes large housing where cars do not have access and highways. Many of the offenders like to commit their robberies at night, to where it will be difficult to ID them.
When committing robberies at businesses, there were pros and cons according to the participants. Businesses normally have some type of security measure, but they knew they would receive a good amount of money if they were successful. This allowed them to stop doing robberies for a
Many of the participants would rob other people that were involved in illegal activities such as drug dealing. They know that drug dealers carry a large number of cash on themselves and there is also a possibility that they will have drugs on them as well. Another reason that they rob drug dealers is because they know that they will not seek help from the law. Many offenders stated that they preferred white victims because they typically did not put up a big fight. They chose people within a certain area in fear of being caught, usually staying in familiar areas. Some chose people in poor neighborhoods and others went downtown to look for targets. Some stayed near banks and similar businesses such as ATMs. One of the factors leading to whether to rob a certain person was the proximity to an escape route. This includes large housing where cars do not have access and highways. Many of the offenders like to commit their robberies at night, to where it will be difficult to ID them.
When committing robberies at businesses, there were pros and cons according to the participants. Businesses normally have some type of security measure, but they knew they would receive a good amount of money if they were successful. This allowed them to stop doing robberies for a