Armed robbery is regarded as one of the most serious crimes, and is widely reported in the media. This book provides an account of armed robbery, based on research with 350 robbers in prison, and on work with two police armed response units - from the Metropolitan and South Yorkshire Police.

Armed robbery is regarded as one of the most serious crimes, and is widely reported in the media. Many convicted armed robbers receive long prison sentences, and although not one of the most frequently committed crimes a disproportionate percentage of the prison population is imprisoned for armed robbery and related offences. The police have targeted it as a key crime for intervention, but have found it difficult to deal with effectively, as recent corruption cases have shown. Despite the significance of armed robbery in the criminal justice system, the media and in the public mind there has been little systematic research or writing on the subject beyond the popular accounts. In both the US and the UK there remains a large gap in the literature on the subject, which this book aims to fill. It provides a comprehensive account of armed robbery, based on extensive research with 350 armed robbers in prison, and on work with two police armed response units - from the Metropolitan and South Yorkshire Police.

1 Introduction and methodology
2 A profile of robbery
3 The motivation of robbers
4 The use of weapons
5 Policing
6 Victimisation
7 Crime prevention
8 The decline of armed robbery
Bibliography
Index