Armed Robbery Theory

Armed robbery is theft of property while carrying or pretending to carry a weapon. It is a higher category of offenses relating to theft and the use of force. Armed robbery requires the establishment of three elements. The first element is the theft of allegation of theft. This is taking of property that belong s to another with the intent of depriving them of the property. The second element is the use of force, which will bring the charges of theft up to the level of robbery. The use of force is not restricted to physical force against the victim but extends to the use of other actions or words. The third element, which is very important to armed robbery, is the use or pretense of a weapon. A robbery that is committed with a weapon or the

It focuses on the opportunity for crime to occur and is an environmental criminology theory. The environmental criminology theory looks at criminal patterns within certain environments an d analyses the impact of external variables on cognitive behavior. Its primary focus is the proximate environmental and situational factors that encourage or deter criminal activities. This approach provides that three things are necessary for a crime to occur. This includes the availability of a suitable target, the lack of a suitable mechanism to prevent the crime and the presence of a motivated offender. The main targets of crime are objects, places and people. Despite the availability of a suitable target, the crime will not occur unless there is no guardian and there is a motivated offender. A guardian is usually a security guard, a CCTV system or workers and their presence will deter offenders from attacking the target. When a guardian does not protect a suitable target, there are higher chances that the target will be attacked. The final element of the routine activity theory is the presence of a likely offender. This approach views the crime form the offender’s perspective and evaluates what influences their decision making process. This means that the crime will only occur if there is a suitable target, which lacks the protection of a capable guardian. The offender’s assessment of the situation

The property owners play an important role in this strategy because the occurrence of armed robbery is dependent on the availability of a suitable target, lack of a suitable guardian and a motivated offender. Any property is a potential target for armed robbers and the chances of the offense increases with the absence of a suitable guardian. Property owners have the responsibility of ensuring that suitable guardians who can be either armed guards or electronic surveillance systems protect their property. Accordingly, the presence of a suitable guardian to protect the property is a very important element in the deterrence of armed robbery. Other stakeholders involved in this strategy are the police. The presence of police patrols will reduce the number of suitable targets by increasing suitable guardian to prevent the crime and discourages the presence of offenders around the property. Adequate police presence will demotivate potential offenders thus reducing the risk of armed