Chapter 13: The Investigation of Robbery

Robbery refers to “the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force, threat of force, violence, and/or by putting the victim in fear.” To establish that a robbery has occurred, the victim must state that property was taken by force and without permission.

There are several types of robberies: street robberies, convenience store and gas station robberies, vehicle-related robberies, bank robberies, and home invasion robberies. Street robberies are the most common; bank robberies are the least common.

The circumstances in which most robberies occur are not favorable for their solution; in particular, although there is typically face-to-face contact between the victim and the perpetrator, they usually do not know each other.

The value of a holdup alarm lies not in preventing robberies but in apprehending robbers. Robbery holdup alarms are not likely to be false, and they ensure a fast police response.

Robberies have often been identified as one of the most potentially dangerous situations for the police. As a result, a top priority in responding to such calls is the safety of officers and victims at the scene.

Eyewitness descriptions of the perpetrator are typically the best evidence available in robberies. When available, security surveillance video may also be extremely useful. Video can make the creation of composite pictures of the offender based on witness descriptions unnecessary. Video may also reveal details about the crime that are unknown to witnesses. However, video also has limitations.

The MO of the robber may be used by investigators to link robberies together and to the same perpetrator, to clear crimes when an offender is identified and apprehended, and to provide other clues as to the characteristics of the perpetrator.

The perpetrator’s apparent familiarity with the target and the degree of planning involved in committing a robbery may provide clues about the offender, especially his or her age and level of experience as a robber.

A street robber’s approach can take one of several different forms: a confrontation, blitz, con, or snatch-theft. A convenience store robber’s approach MO can be straight or through pretending to be a customer.

Usually a robber uses a disguise to make the identification of his or her face more difficult. An elaborate disguise may be more likely to be used by a more experienced or professional robber. It may be useful to consider what the disguise might be hiding.

The use of dye packs, bait bills, and GPS trackers may prove useful in the investigation of bank robberies.

Depending on circumstances and the type of robbery, physical evidence may not be present in a robbery investigation. Digital evidence may be available from smartphones or from other devices.

If the items taken in a robbery can be found, the perpetrator may be identified. The primary motivation for robbery is money, and cash is what is most often taken. Most often stolen money is used to buy drugs and alcohol, to gamble, and to buy clothes. Stolen cash is seldom recovered by the police.

Most robbers are generally angry, hostile, and desperate. They are unlikely to have feelings of guilt about their crimes. Accordingly, the most effective interrogation approach with robbery suspects is typically the nonemotional approach.

Monitoring previously convicted robbers, using trackers, and using tip lines may be useful strategies in identifying and apprehending robbery offenders.

Vocabulary

• Bait bills - Paper currency that has its serial numbers recorded in order to identify the bills as stolen.

• Dye packs - Packs tellers place in bags of stolen cash, unbeknownst to bank robbers; dye packs are programmed to explode, causing cash and potentially other items to be stained.

• Mugging - A robbery that occurs without the use of a weapon; a mugging is not a formal crime classification.

• Street robberies - Robberies that occur outside in public places, often on the streets or sidewalks.