CRIM10001 Lecture Notes - Anomie, Rational Agent, Crimes Act 1958
29 May 2018
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Week 8 Lectures
Armed Robbery
Definition
Robbery is defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the unlawful taking of property, without
consent, accompanied by force or threat of force. Robbery victims can be persons or
organisations.
Robbery is divided into two categories:
armed robbery: robbery conducted with the use of a weapon; a weapon is any object used to
cause fear or injury, and includes imitation weapons and implied weapons; for example, where a
weapon is not seen by the victim but the offender claims to possess one (39% of 14582 robberies
reported in 2010)
unarmed robbery: robbery conducted without the use of a weapon (61% of all robberies reported in
2010)
Victorian Legislation and Penalties
Crimes Act 1958 Armed Robbery s75A:
• A person is guilty of armed robbery if he commits any robbery and at the time has with him a
firearm, imitation firearm, offensive weapon, explosive or imitation explosive within the meaning
assigned to those terms for the purposes of section 77(1)
• A person guilty of armed robbery is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to level 2
imprisonment (25 years maximum)
Trends in Armed Robbery
• Has been declining steadily in statistical prevalence
• The largest population of reported victims of armed robbery is men aged 15-19, followed by men
aged 20-24. Women feature at fairly low-levels in these victim statistics.
• Most robberies occur on the street, though this statistic is in reference to unarmed robberies.
• In Australia, the weapons involved in armed robberies are usually knives.
Typical Armed Robbers
Typical offenders:
• Most are under 30 (16-24 largest age group)
• 90% are male
• Generally unskilled/uneducated
• Multiple offending histories (average of seven armed robbery charges)
• Frequently work alone, except when using firearms
Average take from an armed robbery:
When using a firearm: $4000
When using a knife or syringe: $900
Victorian Data
Of 943 individuals sentenced between 2006-2007 and 2010-2011:
• 93% were male
• A knife was the weapon involved in 59% of armed robberies
• Retail locations were targeted in 56% of armed robberies, with the next most common location
being on the street
• Armed robberies at banking locations were uncommon (2%)
• The majority of offenders had previously been sentenced for other offences (59%) but had not
previously been convicted of armed robbery (80%)
• Around 1 in 5 armed robberies featured physical violence
• 84% of those found guilty were given immediate custodial sentences
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Document Summary
Robbery is defined by the australian bureau of statistics as the unlawful taking of property, without consent, accompanied by force or threat of force. Trends in armed robbery: has been declining steadily in statistical prevalence, the largest population of reported victims of armed robbery is men aged 15-19, followed by men aged 20-24. Women feature at fairly low-levels in these victim statistics: most robberies occur on the street, though this statistic is in reference to unarmed robberies, in australia, the weapons involved in armed robberies are usually knives. Typical offenders: most are under 30 (16-24 largest age group, 90% are male, generally unskilled/uneducated, multiple offending histories (average of seven armed robbery charges, frequently work alone, except when using firearms. It is important to note that there is more than one type of armed robbery. There are three types: opportunistic street robberies, amateur retail robbery, and professional armed robbery.
