NCJ Number
102128
Journal
Journal of Legal Studies Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1986) Pages: 405-416
Date Published
1986
Length
12 pages
Annotation
National Crime Survey (NCS) data for 1973-1979 and findings from studies of the role of victim resistance in robbery/murder cases are analyzed to assess the role of victim resistance in escalating violence and serious victim injury in robberies.
Abstract
In the NCS, a respondent who reports having been robbed in the preceding 6 months provides details on the number, sex, race, and approximate age of the robbers, the circumstances of the encounter, whether and how the victim resisted, and the outcome (injuries and amount stolen). For 1973-79, over 5,800 robbers are in the NCS files. Feeney and Weir analyzed data taken from Oakland, Calif., police files for robberies in 1964 and 1969 and concluded that victim resistance increased the likelihood of serious victim injury. This conclusion is questionable because police reports do not focus on the interaction between victim and offender, and it is not clear that victim resistance was the primary cause of injuries suffered. Other studies concluding that victim resistance to robbers increases the likelihood of injury have similar flaws. NCS data and police data that lack information on event sequences in a robbery do not provide useful information on how victim resistance influences the likelihood of the victim's being injured or killed. Even robbery data that include such information would not be definitive evidence for the relationship between victim resistance and injury suffered, because victim resistance could be a protective response against a violent robber determined to hurt the victim regardless of resistance. Empirical evidence does not produce clear advice for victims in all robbery situations. Tabular data and 22 footnotes.