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Violence in Armed Robbery - The Relationship of Consanguinity and Other Variables

NCJ Number
69781
Author(s)
R G May
Date Published
1970
Length
137 pages
Annotation
This study failed to show that armed robbers related by blood tend more towards violence at the crime scene than nonrelated robbers and searched instead for other factors important to robbery and violence.
Abstract
The initial investigation into robbery cases in Flint, and Detroit, Mich., revealed a low frequency of consanguineal armed robbery suspects and low levels of violence for related robbers. As a result, the research was redirected. Data were collected from each city's armed robbery arrest reports for the year 1969. The variables of consanguinity, team and lone robber activities, race, age, place of birth, firearm use, and narcotics involvement of the suspects were measured against the key element, violence, using a chi square, and a profile of a typical robber was established. Two variables emerged as significant. One was the age factor in Flint--most armed robberies were committed by youth age 22 or younger. The second was race. Black actors accounted for 71 percent of the armed robberies in Detroit. The frequency with which black armed robbers formed teams to conduct their activities was also important among findings, but it warrants closer examination. Finally, analysis indicated that interaction between victim and offender is a key factor in violence, with fear being a significant contributor. Over 20 references and 27 tables are appended.