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Police Street Powers and Criminal Justice: Regulation and Discretion in a Time of Change

By Geoff Pearson and Mike Rowe

This open access book analyses the utilisation, regulation and legitimacy of police powers. Drawing upon six-years of ethnographic research in two police forces in England, this book uncovers the importance of time and place, supervision and monitoring, local policies and law. Covering a period when the police were under intense scrutiny and subject to austerity measures, the authors contend that the concept of police culture does not help us understand police discretion. They argue that change is a dominant feature of policing
and identify fragmented responses to law and policy reform, varying between police stations, across different policing roles, and between senior and frontline ranks.

Highway Robbery? A financial analysis of Design Build Finance and Operate in roads in the UK

Jean Shaoul, Anne Stafford and Pamela Stapleton

This paper examines empirically the financial outcomes of using private finance in roads under the UK government’s Private Finance Initiative (PFI) known as Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO).

It refutes the government’s claim that private finance would lever in additional finance that it could not afford since in the three years for which information was available, the Highways Agency paid out more than the £590m construction cost of the projects.

It questions the claims of greater VFM over the life of the contracts than conventional procurement because: (i) the payment mechanism, based on the volume of traffic which has been rising, introduces additional costs for the public sector; (ii) DBFO seems to have been more costly than expected, thereby eroding the expected and very marginal cost advantage of DBFO; and (iii) the high cost of risk transfer.

Unpublished.

Getting Away With Robbery? Patenting Behavior With The Threat Of Infringement

Amalia Yiannaka, Murray Fulton

The paper examines the relationship between the innovator’s patenting and patent breadth decisions as well as how these two decisions affect, and are affected by, the innovator’s ability to enforce her patent rights. An important feature of the model is that the entrant may be able, by his choice of location in product space, to affect the innovator’s decision to defend her patent. An interesting finding of the paper is that the innovator might find it optimal to patent her innovation even when she chooses to not defend her patent by invoking a trial when patent infringement occurs. The paper also shows that, in most cases, the greater is the entrant’s R&D effectiveness, the smaller is the innovator’s incentive to patent her product. If patenting occurs, however, the greater is R&D effectiveness, the greater is the patent breadth that could be chosen without triggering infringement.

Copyright 2005 by Amalia Yiannaka and Murray Fulton. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies.

Gender, Motivation And The Accomplishment Of Street Robbery In The United Kingdom

Fiona Brookman, Christopher Mullins, Trevor Bennett and Richard Wright

In an influential study of gender and the accomplishment of street robbery in the United States, Miller (1998) demonstrated that whereas there were few gender differences in the motivations for such crimes, men and women typically committed them in strikingly different ways. Other recent work has similarly established both convergence within and divergence between male and female criminal enactment patterns. Most of that work, however, also was conducted in the United States, making it difficult to determine whether and to what extent these results are culturally bound. This article, based on open-ended interviews with incarcerated male and female offenders in the United Kingdom, explores the ways in which gender shapes the motivation and enactment of street robbery in a non-US context.

BRIT. J. CRIMINOL. (2007) 47, 861–884 Advance Access publication 7 July 2007

Eyewitness Memory of a Supermarket Robbery: A Case Study of Accuracy and Confidence After 3 Months

Geralda Odinot, Gezinus Wolters, Peter J. van Koppen

In this case study, 14 witnesses of an armed robbery were interviewed after 3 months. Security camera recordings were used to assess memory accuracy. Of all information that could be remembered about 84% was correct. Although accurately recalled information had a higher confidence level on average than inaccurately recalled information, the mean accuracy–confidence correlation was rather modest (0.38). These findings indicate that confidence is not a reliable predictor of accuracy. A higher level of self-reported, post-event thinking about the incident was associated with higher confidence levels, while a higher level of self-reported emotional impact was associated with greater accuracy. A potential source of (mis)information, a reconstruction of the robbery broadcasted on TV, did not alter the original memories of the witnesses.

Law Hum Behav (2009) 33:506–514 DOI 10.1007/s10979-008-9152-x

Drug Dealers, Robbery and Retaliation. Vulnerability, Deterrence and the Contagion of Violence

VOLKAN TOPALLI , RICHARD WRIGHT and ROBERT FORNANGO

Because of their illicit status, drug dealers robbed in the course of doing business cannot go to the police. Thus, the deterrent, compensatory and retributive benefits of formal justice are unavailable to them. Informal avenues of redress represent their only means of obtaining justice. This article, based on interviews with 20 recently robbed, active drug dealers in St Louis, Missouri, explores how such victims perceive and respond to the assault. Results indicate that direct retaliation is the preferred response because it serves three important aims: reputation maintenance, loss recovery and vengeance. When dealer/victims are unable or unwilling to retaliate they resort to less satisfactory alternatives such as robbery displacement and the resumption of selling. The implications of these findings for the spread of drug market violence are discussed.

BRIT. J. CRIMINOL.. (2002) 42, 337–351

Correlates of Psychological Distress Following Armed Robbery

Christine A. Harrison and Stuart A. Kinner

Although mental health professionals have long been aware of the impact of traumatic events, it was not until 1980 that the term posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was introduced into the DSM-III. Since then, one major goal of research has been to identify factors associated with distress following trauma; as yet, few reliable indicators have emerged. Within the population of armed robbery victims, this is particularly true. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible correlates of posttrauma distress in armed robbery victims, and to assess the overall level of distress within this group. A questionnaire was mailed out to 57 robbery victims, aged 15 to 65, who were recruited as study volunteers via community outreach. Severity of the trauma, vulnerability attributions, and avoidant coping were significantly related to distress level, and victims exhibited a high level of distress.

Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 11, No, 4, 1998

Consequences of Expected and Observed Victim Resistance for Offender Violence during Robbery Events

Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard , Wim Bernasco, and Scott Jacques

Objectives: Drawing on the rational choice perspective, this study aims at explaining why some robberies take place with physical force while others occur only with threat. The focus is how expected and observed victim resistance impact physical force by robbers. Methods: We draw on quantitative and qualitative data obtained from 104 robbers who described 143 robbery events. Based on the coding of behavioral sequences between offenders and victims, we distinguish between the use of physical force at the onset from the use of physical force during the progression of the event. Results: At the onset of robberies, physical force of offenders is influenced by whether they judge the victim to be street credible. During the progression of robberies, offenders are more likely to use physical force against a resistant than against a compliant victim. Conclusions: At the onset of the robbery, offender violence is related to expected victim resistance; during the progression, it is related to observed victim resistance. Future research should focus on behavioral sequences within robbery events including the meaning of victim characteristics and victim behavior in different phases of the event.

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 1-30 ª The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0022427814547639

Comparing spatial patterns of robbery: Evidence from a Western and an Eastern European city

Vaˆnia Ceccato * and Dietrich Oberwittler

In this paper, we test hypotheses about the spatial variation in rates of robbery in West and East European cities (Cologne, Germany and Tallinn, Estonia). This comparison represents an interesting case study because Tallinn is an example of former socialist cities which have undergone a period of profound political and socio-economic change since the country’s independence in the early 1990s (including EU membership). These changes are expected to have implications for the level and composition of offences as well as their geographies. Using cross-sectional datasets, we examine whether or not levels and patterns of robbery in Tallinn follow similar processes to the ones found in Cologne applying GIS (Geographical Information System) and spatial statistical techniques. Findings show that although levels of robberies (rates) are higher in Tallinn than in Cologne, their geography (ratios) follows the same overlapping components of social contexts, as social disorganization and, particularly, routine activities.

Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Between Corruption and Development: The Political Economy of State Robbery in Nigeria

Daniel Egiegba Agbiboa

The study is based on the hypothesis that there is a link between corruption and underdevelopment and that corruption is responsible for the shortcomings and poor performance of the Nigerian political economy. In addition to examining the historical trajectory of corruption in Nigeria, this paper delves into the underlying causes of corruption as well as its cumulative impact on national development in the country. Lastly, the paper assesses some public and private sector initiatives that have been taken and that might stem the tide of corruption

J Bus Ethics (2012) 108:325–345 DOI 10.1007/s10551-011-1093-5

Assessing a dysphoric arousal model of acute stress disorder symptoms in a clinical sample of rape and bank robbery victims

Maj Hansen*, Cherie Armour and Ask Elklit

Background: Since the introduction of Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) into the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) research has focused on the ability of ASD to predict PTSD rather than focusing on addressing ASD’s underlying latent structure. The few existing confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) studies of ASD have failed to reach a clear consensus regarding ASD’s underlying dimensionality. Although, the discrepancy in the results may be due to varying ASD prevalence rates, it remains possible that the model capturing the latent structure of ASD has not yet been put forward. One such model may be a replication of a new five-factor model of PTSD, which separates the arousal symptom cluster into Dysphoric and Anxious Arousal. Given the pending DSM-5, uncovering ASD’s latent structure is more pertinent than ever.

Objective: Using CFA, four different models of the latent structure of ASD were specified and tested: the proposed DSM-5 model, the DSM-IV model, a three factor model, and a five factor model separating the arousal symptom cluster.

Method: The analyses were based on a combined sample of rape and bank robbery victims, who all met the diagnostic criteria for ASD (N404) using the Acute Stress Disorder Scale.

Results: The results showed that the five factor model provided the best fit to the data.

Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that the dimensionality of ASD may be best characterized as a five factor structure which separates dysphoric and anxious arousal items into two separate factors, akin to recent research on PTSD’s latent structure. Thus, the current study adds to the debate about how ASD should be conceptualized in the pending DSM-5.

European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2012.

"Another case of Ruthless Robbery…" Violence, Crime and the Local Press in a provincial City of Greece

Dr. Stratos Georgoulas

This paper͛s hypothesis is that the press, through the presentation of criminal incidents, transmits an evaluative knowledge determining this way, desirable objectives and propagating for canonistic types of behaviour. The daily knowledge as a constitutive element of the daily reality is a condition of interaction between the members of a society. In that sense, the local press that transmits this daily knowledge constitutes a dominant structuring factor of this reality.

The research which is based on content analysis of newspaper articles of the whole local press of Mytilene (the capital of the prefecture of Lesbos in Greece) published between January March 2004 and additional interviews from journalists aims to illustrate the following:

a. The concept of criminality is being constructed both qualitatively and quantitatively through local press and not vice versa.

b. The local press evaluates negatively illegal behaviours, positively the austerisation of social control, while in most cases it cancels any relevance with the social frame of criminality.

c. The local press with the dramatic narrations that uses it causes fear of victimisation.

d. The journalists transmit evaluative knowledge in an attempt to cover the lack of knowledge of real criminological data.

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences November 2013, Vol. 3, No. 11 ISSN: 2222-6990.

Analysis of Maritime Piracy and Armed Robbery in the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Domain

Kenneth U. NNADI, 1 Theophilus C. NWOKEDI, 1 Ignatius A. NWOKORO, 1 Obed C. NDIKOM,

The Gulf of Guinea in the past 14 years witnessed serious challenges of maritime piracy and armed robbery attacks. The paper analyzed maritime piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea region from 2002 to 2015. Time series data of 14 years on the reported piracy and armed robbery attacks in the 15 Gulf of Guinea countries and nine coastal zones of Nigeria were obtained from International Maritime Bureau annual reports. Trend analysis model and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. It was found that there was significant variation in piracy and armed robbery attacks among the Gulf of Guinea countries, the greatest of attacks occurred in Nigeria. There was also a significant variation in piracy attacks among the coastal zones of Nigeria with attacks in Lagos ports and anchorages being highest within the period. There exists decreasing trend of attacks within the period.

Nnadi et al. / JEMS, 2016; 4(4): 271-287

An Overview of the Impact of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria

Ogbette, Afamefuna Samuel

This study examined the impact of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria. It solely depended on the secondary source for information. SARS is one of the Nigeria Police Force units that is saddled with the responsibility of fighting crime in the society; specifically, robbery and kidnapping. The impact was examined in two ways: Positive and Negative impact. From the positive point of view, SARS has been able to reduce robbery and kidnapping to an extent but unfortunately, people now use them as bodyguards to intimidate, suppress, and harass other people. From our findings, SARS tortures people mercilessly, extort, beat, kill and jail people who are not forthcoming with their demands

International Journal of Human Resource Studies ISSN 2162-3058 2018, Vol. 8, No. 4

AN EXPLANATION FOR THE END OF POLITICAL BANK ROBBERY IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

James C. Schopf

Many statist accounts of development, especially that which has occurred in East Asia, emphasize the autonomous role of the bureaucracy. Civil servants in these accounts are often assumed to give planrational guidance to economic forces. This argument fits nicely with the claims of some strong-state advocates that the messiness, conflict, and jockeying for position characteristic of democratic politics do disrupt the efficient contributions to development that a state-led or dirigiste system makes possible. This article, however, argues to the contrary, in favor of a different theoretical analysis to which comparative examination of Korean regimes gives some empirical confirmation. In Korea, authoritarian leaderships extracted funds and rewarded political supporters by using banks and bureaucracies to coddle inefficient but favored firms with close ties…….

Asian Survey, 41:5, pp. 693–715. ISSN: 0004–4687.

An Evaluation of the 1977 Canadian Firearm Legislation: Robbery Involving a Firearm

by Gary A. Mauser

The effect of the 1977 Canadian firearm legislation on robberies involving firearms is evaluated between 1974 and 1992 using a pooled cross-section, time series model. The results show that the 1977 legislation did not reduce robbery involving firearms, nor did it have a significant effect on the total robbery or armed robbery rates. The legislation may even have acted perversely in that it may have increased robberies with firearms. In general, these results are consistent with previous published findings but contrast with unpublished governmental studies. The implication that this legislation may have acted perversely is new and requires further investigation.

Unpublished.

An Appraisal of Sea Robbery Control in Nigeria’s Waterways: Lessons from Niger Delta Region

Toakodi Adongoi, Ifeanyichukwu Otodo and Adioni-Arogo Azibasuam

This study examined strategies adopted by relevant security agencies to curb sea robbery in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select respondents’. A Sample of 400 was derived using Taro Yamane sample size determination technique. Questionnaires and oral interview were the methods used for data collection, while data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results revealed that the joint task force (JTF) is selective in carrying out its constitutional mandate as their presence is felt only in critical facilities, which implies that security is porous and much is needed to guarantee safety of lives and properties on Nigeria territorial waters. Consequent upon this finding, crime-mapping as indicated on GIS map of sample states is recommended.

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2019, 8, 75-90

The destruction of healthcare in armed conflict: policy implications and accountability

Athena Madan

This Perspective examines how the destruction of healthcare systems in armed conflict produces enduring public health harm and broad human insecurity. Drawing on social medicine, sociological theory, governance scholarship, and field observations from Afghanistan, it argues that attacks on healthcare infrastructure and personnel result in not only the loss of clinical services but also in the erosion of social and moral worlds of care. The paper advances three interrelated claims: first, that healthcare institutions function both as clinical and social infrastructures; second, that their destruction generates disproportionate psychosocial, gendered, and intergenerational harms extending far beyond immediate morbidity and mortality; and third, that the persistence of such attacks reflects abject failures in international protection and accountability mechanisms. Particular attention is given to the consequences for women and children, including preventable death, disability, and psychosocial distress with constrained possibilities for recovery and social ways of belonging. These harms are compounded by weakened international accountability, which has increasingly normalised attacks on healthcare as a feature of war rather than a violation demanding intervention.

Keywords: war and health, structural violence, health systems in conflict, Responsibility to Protect, health and human security Citation: Madan A. The destruction of healthcare in armed conflict: policy implications and accountability. Academia Medicine and Health 2026;3. https://doi.org/10.20935/AcadMedHealth8372

Ethical and Social Perspectives on Situational Crime Prevention

Edited By Andrew von Hirsch, David Garland, and Alison Wakefield

Ethical and Social Perspectives on Situational Crime Prevention is a penetrating examination of the ethical, social, and political questions raised by contemporary crime prevention strategies. Rather than debating whether situational crime prevention is effective, this volume explores the broader consequences of preventing crime by altering environments, regulating opportunities, and managing risk. [

Edited by leading criminologists Andrew von Hirsch, David Garland, and Alison Wakefield, the book brings together influential scholars to assess the impact of surveillance, target hardening, environmental design, access control, and other preventive measures on civil liberties, public space, community life, and social justice.

The contributors examine fundamental questions about the balance between security and freedom, the role of government and private organizations in crime control, and the ethical limits of increasingly preventive approaches to social regulation. Through rigorous analysis, the essays challenge readers to consider how crime prevention policies shape not only criminal behavior but also the character of modern society.

Combining criminological insight with philosophical and sociological inquiry, this collection is an essential resource for students, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners interested in the moral foundations and societal implications of crime prevention. It remains a significant contribution to debates about governance, security, citizenship, and the responsible pursuit of safer communities.

Oxford. Hart Publishing. Series: Studies in Penal Theory and Penal Ethics. 2000. 239p.

Situational Crime Prevention : Successful Case Studies. Second Edition

Ronald V.Clarke

Situational Crime Prevention: Successful Case Studies is a landmark collection that demonstrates how crime can be reduced by changing environments, opportunities, and systems rather than attempting to change offenders themselves. Edited by criminologist Ronald V. Clarke, this influential second edition presents 23 real-world case studies from around the world that show how practical, evidence-based interventions have successfully prevented crimes ranging from burglary and vehicle theft to fraud, robbery, vandalism, and public disorder.

The book introduces the theory of situational crime prevention, explaining how crime opportunities arise and how they can be systematically reduced through environmental design, management practices, surveillance, access control, target hardening, and other preventive strategies. Clarke outlines sixteen opportunity-reducing techniques and illustrates them through detailed case studies involving improved street lighting, CCTV systems, steering-column locks, property marking, public transport security, retail theft prevention, fraud reduction, and community safety initiatives.

Drawing on rigorous evaluations from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, and Canada, the volume challenges traditional assumptions about crime control, including the belief that offenders inevitably displace their activities elsewhere. Many of the featured projects demonstrate significant and measurable reductions in crime, often producing wider community benefits beyond their original targets.

Widely regarded as a foundational text in criminology, policing, security management, and crime prevention, this book remains essential reading for scholars, practitioners, law enforcement professionals, policymakers, and students interested in understanding how carefully designed environments and strategic interventions can make crime more difficult, risky, and unrewarding.

Ciminal Justice Press. 1997. 367p.