Book Review: Armed Robbery
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.4.4.365.10876 |
| Date | 01 October 2002 |
| Published date | 01 October 2002 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 4 Number 4
Book review
Armed Robbery
by R. Mathews
(Willan Publishing, Cullompton; 2002; ISBN 1 903240 60 3)
This book by Roger Mathews, Professor of
investigation department approach used in
Criminology at Middlesex University is
South Yorkshire. The interviews with pris-
based on interviews with key actors includ-
oners lasted 45 minutes on average but
ing 340 convicted armed robbers that were
some could last as long as three hours. In
conducted in the early 1990s. Like many
the Metropolitan Police District 235 rob-
other areas of criminology there is little
bery cases were examined and 165, the total
academic research on armed robbery
recorded, in South Yorkshire in 1993. Scot-
despite the seriousness of this offence and
land Yard categorises robbery into three
the publicity that invariably attends its com-
bands. Band 1 involves robberies against
mission and this book could have been a
banks, building societies, betting shops, post
definitive study.
offices, jewellers and cash-in-transit. Rob-
Currently the New Labour Government
beries against other types of commercial
in the UK is so exercised about increases in
premises are referred to as band 2. The
the number of robberies recorded by the
findings of this research have previously
police that the Prime Minister has taken
been disseminated some considerable time
personal responsibility for a robbery initia-
ago (Gill and Mathews, 1994).
tive and an assortment of ten named Minis-
Mathews points out that social class, gen-
ters from miscellaneous departments have
der, age and ethnicity are likely to have an
been given responsibility for ensuring
important bearing on research outcomes.
improvements by September 2002 in the
Both researchers shared many of the same
areas with the highest reported levels of
working-class profiles as their interviewees,
robbery. It would appear that most of these
police and prisoners, Mathews observes,
...
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