NCJ Number
235060
Date Published
2011
Length
58 pages
Annotation
Building on previous analyses, This 2008 Annual Report on Armed Robbery in Australia presents an overview of the 6,427 victims of armed robbery and the situations, including locations, that made them vulnerable to victimization.
Abstract
There were a total of 5,686 armed robbery incidents in 2008, a decrease from the previous year and a continuation of a trend in the decline in the rate of armed robberies in Australia. In the robberies committed in calendar year 2008, knives were the most commonly used weapon (51 percent), a 4-percent increase in such weapon use compared with 2007. Armed robberies that involved firearms decreased 3 percent to account for 13 percent of all weapons used in armed robbery. Nearly 40 percent of all armed robberies occurred in a retail setting and involved individual victims; 4 percent occurred in an open setting (recreational space, transport-related, open spaces, streets, and footpaths. The average age of an armed robbery victim was 30 years old; 66 percent of male victims and 55 percent of female victims were under age 30. Males were more likely to be victimized than females (33.5 per 100,000 for males compared to 9.9 per 100,000 for females). Organizations or commercial premises constituted 27 percent of armed robbery victims. One percent of the victims reported repeat victimization during 2008, with most of these victims being organizations (62 percent). Consistent with findings from previous years, armed robberies in 2008 were placed in two categories: robberies that yielded little return for the offender and were unplanned and essentially opportunistic; and robberies that yielded a high return for the offenders and involved some level of planning and organization as well as a selected target. 30 tables and 3 figures