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1 – 10 of over 2000In Hong Kong, robberies occurring in the elevators in high-rise buildings were identified as a particular problem and the purpose of this paper is to address a dedicated programme…
Abstract
Purpose
In Hong Kong, robberies occurring in the elevators in high-rise buildings were identified as a particular problem and the purpose of this paper is to address a dedicated programme aimed at reducing such offences.
Design/methodology/approach
A comparison of elevator-based robbery statistics over a ten-year policy-implication period, in two police districts, one with a high rate of public ownership and a traditionally high rate of elevator robberies, the second with a higher rate of private ownership and a traditionally lower rate of such robberies.
Findings
The evidence suggests that the programme was successful, with such robberies declining significantly and with no evidence of displacement.
Research limitations/implications
This research is based on police statistics. There is a need for more research, for example, investigating residents’ involvement with the system and the extent to which it encouraged shared ownership of the initiative.
Practical implications
What is clear is that, where in the West the Newman legacy led to the demonisation of high-rise public sector housing, in Hong Kong, where there is no viable alternative, the use of CCTV helped transform such areas into safer communities.
Social implications
The rate of robbery, most notably elevator-based robbery, fell dramatically, improving community safety.
Originality/value
Though there has been a considerable amount of research on the impact of CCTV on crime, almost all of this has focussed on Western industrial societies and little of it has addressed robbery. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this research is the first in Hong Kong, and the first to evaluate the impact of CCTV on robbery.
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Business victimization is a serious and pervasive issue within the USA. According to recent estimates, roughly 2,058,194 businesses are victimized each year. Of those…
Abstract
Purpose
Business victimization is a serious and pervasive issue within the USA. According to recent estimates, roughly 2,058,194 businesses are victimized each year. Of those, approximately 33 percent of business victimization cases are solved. Taken together, it is important for research to examine factors that influence business victimization clearance. The purpose of this paper is to examine how broken windows enforcement, social disorganization, community and police organizational factors influence business robbery clearance using data from Houston, Texas over a two-year period from 2010 to 2012.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a hierarchical linear modeling strategy, the current study found no effect of broken windows tactics, social disorganization elements and various organizational, and community characteristics on business robbery clearance.
Findings
Significant effects were found for a number of incident and offense characteristics including gang involvement, business type, type of weapon used in the crime, the number of business entities in an area, and racial populous.
Originality/value
To date, few studies have examined factors that influence clearance rates for business robberies. Thus, the current study adds to and extends upon the literature in theoretically relevant ways by exploring how broken windows policing, social disorganization and various community/police organizational variables influence business robbery clearances in a large city.
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Much attention has focused on the motivation for robbery and robbery in different contexts, but an understanding of young robbery careers in an urban setting, and the pathways…
Abstract
Much attention has focused on the motivation for robbery and robbery in different contexts, but an understanding of young robbery careers in an urban setting, and the pathways connected to it, have remained absent from the literature. In this paper, I give four case studies of street robbery careers highlighting key turning points and pathways into and out of street robbery and gangs. I will show how robbery, gang affiliation and participation in ‘street culture’ have implications for progression through robbery careers into other criminal activities.
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Marewa Glover, Robin Shepherd, Kyro Selket and Saravana Kumar Paramanathen
A large increase in robberies of convenience stores in New Zealand (NZ) in 2016 and 2017 was anecdotally attributed to persistent and substantial increases in excise tax on…
Abstract
Purpose
A large increase in robberies of convenience stores in New Zealand (NZ) in 2016 and 2017 was anecdotally attributed to persistent and substantial increases in excise tax on tobacco products. This study aims to explore the validity of that claim by examining the characteristics of the robberies through the lens of online news coverage.
Design/methodology/approach
Google, Bing and main online NZ news outlets were searched for news reports between 2009 and 2018 of tobacco-related store robberies. Content analysis was used to extract characteristics such as date of robbery, type of store, items targeted or stolen and demographic profile of offenders. The prevalence of reported robberies by socioeconomic level of the surrounding community was assessed using nearest primary school decile rating. Descriptive statistics and statistical analysis were used to discuss trends and key findings in the data.
Findings
Reports on 572 robberies were unevenly distributed across the years with a large increase in 2016 and 2017, followed by a substantial decrease in 2018. Local community convenience stores were primarily hit – more so in lower socioeconomic communities. Robberies occurred nationwide and disproportionately so during colder months in lower socioeconomic communities. Many robberies were aggravated resulting in serious injury to shopkeepers. Tobacco and cash were predominantly targeted.
Social implications
The large increase in robberies that occurred in 2016–2017 likely resulted from tax-driven tobacco price hikes combined with reduced duty-free tobacco coming into NZ with travellers. Installation of security in stores, news fatigue and other explanations are potential reasons for the 2018 decrease in reported robberies despite tobacco prices increasing. Frequent robberies of local stores, many including violence, should be a public health concern as destruction of community well-being can be a determinant of other health problems. The negative consequences for communities, particularly lower socioeconomic communities, need to be factored into the cost benefit analysis of raising the tax on tobacco.
Originality/value
This study provides much needed detail on the negative health and social consequences of tobacco-related store robberies.
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Grant Drawve, Leslie W. Kennedy, Joel M. Caplan and James Sarkos
The purpose of this study is to identify potential changes in crime generators and attractors based on monthly models in a high-tourist destination.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify potential changes in crime generators and attractors based on monthly models in a high-tourist destination.
Design/methodology/approach
A risk terrain modeling approach was used to assess spatial relationships between 27 crime generator and attractor types in Atlantic City, New Jersey with robbery occurrence for the 2015 calendar year. In total, 12 separate monthly models were run to identify changes in risk factors based on the month of the year.
Findings
Results indicated unique significant risk factors based on the month of the year. Over the warmer and summer months, there was a shift in environmental risk factors that falls in line with more of a change in routine activities for residents and tourists and related situational contexts for the crime.
Practical implications
The analytical approach used in the current study could be used by police departments and jurisdictions to understand types of crime generators and attractors influencing local crime occurrence. Subsequent analyses were used by Atlantic City Police Department to direct place-based policing efforts.
Originality/value
With growing crime and place research that accounts for temporal scales, the authors advance these endeavors by focusing on a tourist destination, Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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This study examines the effect of TimeZup – a lever pulling strategy designed to reduce gun violence in New Haven, Connecticut.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the effect of TimeZup – a lever pulling strategy designed to reduce gun violence in New Haven, Connecticut.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of ARIMA and dynamically complete models are estimated to determine if TimeZup was associated with any significant changes in New Haven's murder, firearm robbery and firearm assault rates. A quasi-experimental design is also used to compare New Haven to six, similarly situated cities in the Northeastern United States.
Findings
The results indicate that New Haven experienced a significant decrease in its firearm robbery rate in the summer of 1997 – a date that preceded TimeZup but coincided with other lever pulling strategies implemented by the New Haven Police Department.
Originality/value
Although an older program, TimeZup was not rigorously analyzed. After the conclusion of the program, basic pre- and post-comparisons suggested TimeZup was effective. Using a rigorous methodology, this study shows it was not. This study points out that interventions such as TimeZup often coincide with pre-existing crime reduction strategies. Evaluators should account for those pre-existing strategies because it may be those strategies – and not the intervention being examined – that are impacting crime rates.
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Faiza Ihsan-Ghafoor, Rachel Worthington and Louise Coughlin
This systematic review sought to examine the research body on acquisitive offending among female offenders, specifically exploring what factors may take females closer towards…
Abstract
Purpose
This systematic review sought to examine the research body on acquisitive offending among female offenders, specifically exploring what factors may take females closer towards engaging in acquisitive offending and what factors may support desistance from this behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review was conducted, using the recommended guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. A total of 8,129 initial articles were identified from the search terms, 77 articles were deemed suitable to meet the inclusion criteria and are explored in the results section. Papers were screened for quality appraisal and risk of bias.
Findings
Ten factors were identified that took females closer towards offending. Five factors were identified that took females away from offending. Based on the findings, four typologies of female acquisitive offenders were identified: short-term orientation (adolescent); mental health orientation; life-course persistent (theft); and acquisitive diversity (including robbery and burglary).
Research limitations/implications
Future research would benefit from exploring a more rich understanding of the mechanisms that underpin why females engage in acquisitive offending and what factors contribute towards their desistance. A wider range of bio-psycho-social factors, which may increase the risk of acquisitive offending, should also be considered in future research alongside ways in which interventions may be gender-responsive.
Originality/value
This review provides insight into the differing functions and typologies of female acquisitive offending. Interventions for each of these typologies are considered within the review.
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L. P. Barreto, A. S. Silva and R. C. Ferreira
Identifying and managing supply chain risk is crucial for the competitiveness of a company. However, research focused on the risks of supply chain operations in Brazil is scarce…
Abstract
Identifying and managing supply chain risk is crucial for the competitiveness of a company. However, research focused on the risks of supply chain operations in Brazil is scarce. The purpose of this study is to analyze and assess the risk of cargo theft in the country. The methodology adopted is deductive and based on an analysis of historical data from January 2015 to November 2017, aiming to evaluate risk based on probability and impact. The findings unveil a scenario of criminality of transporting goods in Brazil, where the use of force, violence, and threats to steal goods is most likely to occur en route or when parked in key locations on the way to the distribution center. On the other hand, the higher impact cargo crimes are concentrated en route to the customer. This chapter provides a better understanding of the risks of transporting goods by road in Brazil and contributes to a more efficient supply chain design by identifying the risks and assessing the primary locations of the crimes along with their modi operandi and the period of the day during which the crime occurs.
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Kenneth J. Novak, Jennifer L. Hartman, Alexander M. Holsinger and Michael G. Turner
This paper adds to a growing body of research which explores the relationship between aggressive police strategies and serious crime. For one month, police enforced disorder crime…
Abstract
This paper adds to a growing body of research which explores the relationship between aggressive police strategies and serious crime. For one month, police enforced disorder crime in a small section of one community. An interrupted time series analysis was utilized to evaluate the effects of this intervention on robbery and aggravated burglary in a target area and a control area. The strategy was found to be unrelated to levels of aggravated burglary and robbery in the target area. There was no spatial displacement of crime. Explanations for the findings are offered.
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