Robbery.

Definition

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines robbery as the taking or attempted taking of anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or putting the victim in fear.

Trend

                                      Rate per 100,000
Year             Number of offenses     inhabitants

2002                   420,806             146.1
2003                   413,402             142.2

Percent change          -1.8                -2.7

National Volume, Trends, and Rates

There were an estimated 413,402 robberies in the Nation in 2003, a 1.8-percent decrease from the 2002 estimate. Five- and 10-year trend data indicated that the number of robberies in 2003 rose 1.0 percent when compared to 1999 data; the number of robberies in 2003 fell 33.2 percent from the 1994 figure. (See Table 1, national estimates.) Robbery accounted for 29.9 percent of all violent crimes in 2003. (Based on Table 1, national estimates.)

National trend data also showed that in 2003 robbery offenses occurred at a rate of 142.2 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, a 2.7-percent decrease from the 2002 estimate, a 5.3-percent decline from the 1999 data, and a 40.2-percent drop from the 1994 rate. (See Table 1, national estimates.)

Regional Offense Trends and Rates

The UCR Program divides the United States into four regions: the Northeast, the Midwest, the South, and the West. (Geographic region breakdowns can be found in Appendix III.) Data collected by the UCR Program and aggregated by region concerning robbery reflected the following:

The Northeast

The Northeast was home to 18.7 percent of the Nation's population in 2003; 19.6 percent of the Nation's robberies were reported in that region. Law enforcement in the region reported a 0.3-percent increase in the volume of robberies in 2003 when compared to the volume of robberies reported in 2002. In 2003, an estimated 148.7 robberies per 100,000 inhabitants were committed in the Northeast, a 0.2-percent decline from the 2002 rate. (See Tables 3 and 4, regional estimates.)

The Midwest

The Midwest had 22.5 percent of the Nation's population. Law enforcement in the Midwest Region reported 5.7 percent fewer robberies in 2003 from the 2002 volume. The number of robberies in the Midwest accounted for 18.8 percent all robberies in the Nation in 2003. The rate of robberies in the Midwest, 118.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, declined 6.1 percent from the 2002 rate. The Midwest Region had the lowest volume of robberies and the lowest rate of robberies per 100,000 inhabitants of the four regions in 2003. (See Tables 3 and 4, regional estimates.)

The South

Nearly 36 percent (35.9) of the Nation's population resided in the South in 2003, and law enforcement agencies in the region reported an estimated 38.9 percent of the country's robberies. The South had the highest volume, 160,675 estimated offenses, and rate, 153.7 per 100,000 population, of the four geographic regions. The number of robberies reported in the South declined 0.9 percent from the 2002 number, and the rate of robberies per 100,000 inhabitants declined 2.1 percent from the 2002 figure. (See Tables 3 and 4, regional estimates.)

The West

The West accounted for 22.9 percent of the Nation's total population and 22.8 percent of the country's robberies in 2003. The region had a 1.6-percent decrease in robberies from the 2002 estimate, and a rate of 141.9 robberies per 100,000 in population, a 3.1-percent decline from the 2002 rate. (See Tables 3 and 4, regional estimates.)

Community Types

The UCR Program aggregates data by three community types: Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), cities outside metropolitan statistical areas, and nonmetropolitan counties. (Additional in-depth information regarding community types is located in Appendix III.) Nearly 83 percent (82.8) of the Nation's population lived in MSAs in 2003. Residents of cities outside MSAs accounted for 6.8 percent of the country's population, and 10.4 percent of the population lived in nonmetropolitan counties. (Based on Table 2, community type estimates.) The Nation's MSAs had a rate of 164.8 robberies per 100,000 inhabitants in 2003. Cities outside MSAs had a rate of 60.0 robberies per 100,000 inhabitants, and nonmetropolitan counties had a rate of 15.8 robberies per 100,000 in population. (See Table 2, community type estimates.)

Population Groups: Trends and Rates

The UCR Program aggregates crime statistics by population groups. (An explanation of these groupings can be found in Appendix III.) The Nation's cities collectively reported a 2.2-percent decrease in the number of robberies in 2003. Among population groups with the label city, cities with populations of 250,000 or more had the largest decrease, 3.1 percent, in robberies from the 2002 figure. Cities with 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants had the largest increase, 1.3 percent, in the volume of robberies reported to law enforcement. Metropolitan counties had a 0.6-percent increase in robberies; the number of robberies reported in nonmetropolitan counties remained virtually unchanged (+0.1 percent) from the 2002 number. Additional data for population groups are provided in Table 12.

In terms of the rate of robberies, the country's cities collectively had a rate of 201.1 robbery offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. Of the population groups, the Nation's largest cities, those with 250,000 or more inhabitants, had the highest rate at 379.7 robbery offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the Nation's smallest cities, those with less than 10,000 inhabitants, had the lowest rate at 55.2 per 100,000 population. Law enforcement personnel in metropolitan counties reported 72.3 robberies per 100,000 inhabitants, and those in nonmetropolitan counties reported a rate of 16.7 offenses per 100,000 population. Robbery rates for each of the population groups are furnished in Table 16.

Offense Analysis

Supplemental data concerning robberies reported by law enforcement personnel to the national UCR Program during 2003 indicated the following:

Robbery by Weapon

An examination of information collected about weapons used in the commission of a robbery showed that firearms were again the weapon of choice. During 2003, offenders used firearms in 41.8 percent of all reported robberies. Strong-arm tactics such as hands, fists, and feet were used in 39.9 percent of robberies, and knives or other cutting instruments were used in 8.9 percent of robberies. Other weapons were employed in 9.4 percent of the robberies reported in 2003. (See Tables 2.21 and 19.) Table 21 provides a state-by-state breakdown of the weapons used in robberies.

Loss by Dollar Value

Robbery offenders took an estimated $514 million from their victims in 2003. (Based on Tables 1 and 23.) Nationally, the average monetary value of property stolen during a robbery was $1,244. (See Table 23.) Banks lost an average of $4,767 per robbery, and commercial houses (such as supermarkets, department stores, restaurants, taverns, finance companies, hotels, and motels) lost an average of $1,778 per robbery. The estimated value of losses from robberies of residences was $1,472 per robbery. Losses to victims of robberies on streets or highways averaged $898, and to victims of robberies of convenience stores, $813. Owners of gas/service stations lost an average of $690 per robbery. Robberies that occurred at unspecified locations (denoted as miscellaneous) cost victims an average of $1,258 per incident. (See Table 23.)

Robbery Trends by Location

The only type of location for which law enforcement reported an increase in the number of robberies in 2003 when compared to 2002 data were residences at 2.4 percent. Among the types of locations, the location type with the largest decrease, 3.0 percent, was convenience stores. The remaining location types and their decreases were gas/service stations, 2.4 percent; banks, 2.2 percent; street/highway, 1.9 percent; and commercial houses, 1.0 percent. Collectively, the number of robberies at miscellaneous locations decreased 2.5 percent. (See Table 23.)

Percent Distribution

In 2003, 43.4 percent of all robberies occurred on streets or highways; 14.6 percent of all robberies happened in commercial houses. Robberies in residences accounted for 13.7 percent of robberies, and robberies of convenience stores made up 6.2 percent of the Nation's reported robberies. Robberies of gas/service stations accounted for 2.7 percent of the Nation's robberies, and robberies of banks comprised 2.3 percent of all robberies in 2003. Seventeen percent of robberies occurred at miscellaneous venues. (See Table 23.)

Clearances

The UCR Program considers an offense to be cleared by arrest or solved for crime reporting purposes when at least one person is arrested, charged with the commission of the offense, and turned over to the court for prosecution. A clearance by exceptional means can be recorded when the offender has been identified and located and there is enough evidence to support an arrest but conditions beyond law enforcement's control prevent the agency from bringing charges. Section III of this publication provides additional information regarding clearances.

Nationally, law enforcement agencies cleared 26.3 percent of robberies; in the Nation's cities collectively in 2003, law enforcement personnel cleared 25.7 percent of robberies by arrest or exceptional means. Among population groups labeled city, cities with less than 10,000 inhabitants had the highest percentage of robberies cleared at 33.6 percent; cities with populations of 250,000 and over had the lowest percentage of clearances at 23.0 percent. Law enforcement in metropolitan counties cleared 29.0 percent of reported robberies, and those in nonmetropolitan counties cleared 43.1 percent of robberies. (See Table 25.)

Clearances and Juveniles

When an offender under the age of 18 is cited to appear in juvenile court or before other juvenile authorities, the UCR Program considers the incident as cleared by arrest even though a physical arrest may not have occurred. Also, the UCR Program considers clearances involving both juvenile and adult offenders as adult clearances. Throughout the Nation, 14.1 percent of robbery clearances involved only juveniles. In 2003, juveniles (persons under the age of 18) accounted for 14.2 percent of robbery clearances in the Nation's cities collectively. An analysis of the data by population group showed that law enforcement in cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants reported the highest percentage of clearances of robberies involving only juveniles at 15.6 percent; those in cities with populations of 250,000 or greater reported the lowest percentage at 13.1 percent. In the country's metropolitan counties, 13.8 percent of robbery clearances involved juveniles only, and in the nonmetropolitan counties, 8.6 percent of robbery clearances involved juveniles only. (See Table 28.)

Arrests

Table 29 in this book provides the estimated number of arrests in the Nation for the 29 offenses for which the UCR Program collects arrest data. The remaining tables in Section IV of this publication contain actual arrest data for those agencies that provided 12 months of arrest data to the national UCR Program.

Total Arrests

In 2003, law enforcement agencies throughout the Nation reported an estimated 107,553 arrests for robbery, which comprised 18.0 percent of all arrests for violent crime. (Based on Table 29.)

Arrest Trends

An examination of the number of arrests for robbery in the Nation showed that the volume of robbery arrests in 2003 remained virtually unchanged when compared to the number of arrests in 2002. Throughout the Nation, the number of arrests of adults for robbery decreased 0.8 percent, but the number of arrests of juveniles for robbery rose 2.5 percent when compared to the 2002 figure. (See Table 36.) The number of males arrested for robbery in 2003 was virtually unchanged (-0.2 percent), but the number of females arrested for robbery rose 1.6 percent when compared to the 2002 figure. (See Table 37.)

The 5-year trend for arrest data for robbery showed that the number of arrests for robbery showed little change (+0.2 percent) when the 2003 data were compared to those from 1999. The number of juveniles arrested for robbery decreased 7.6 percent from the 1999 figure, but the number of adults arrested for robbery increased 3.0 percent. (See Table 34.) The number of males arrested for robbery in 2003 declined 0.4 percent from the 1999 figure; however, the number of females arrested for robbery rose 5.8 percent. (See Table 35.)

The 10-year trend data for robbery arrests showed that the number of robbery arrests in 2003 declined 25.0 percent from the 1994 number. An examination of that trend data by age showed that the number of arrests of juveniles for robbery dropped 43.1 percent and the number of arrests of adults fell 16.9 percent. (See Table 32.) By gender, a comparison of data regarding arrestees for robbery indicated that the number of males arrested for robbery in 2003 was 26.2 percent less than in 1994, and the number of females arrested for robbery was 12.4 percent less. (See Table 33.)

Arrest Rates

Nationally, the robbery arrest rate in 2003 was 37.1 arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. In those population groups labeled as city, the rate of robbery arrests in cities collectively was 45.6 arrests per 100,000 inhabitants. Cities with populations of 250,000 or more inhabitants had the highest rate at 76.1 arrests per 100,000 inhabitants, and cities with less than 10,000 in population had the lowest rate at 19.5 arrests per 100,000 citizens. Law enforcement agencies in metropolitan counties recorded 22.9 robbery arrests per 100,000 inhabitants, and those in nonmetropolitan counties recorded 9.1 arrests for robbery per 100,000 in population. (See Table 31.)

By region, law enforcement agencies in the Northeast reported 41.6 arrests for robbery per 100,000 population; those in the West, 39.6; in the South, 37.9; and in the Midwest, 28.5 arrests for robbery per 100,000 inhabitants. (See Table 30.)

Distribution by Age, Sex, and Race An analysis of arrest data by age showed that adults comprised 76.3 percent of all persons arrested for robbery in the Nation in 2003. (Based on Table 38.) A gender breakdown of the data showed that the majority (89.6 percent) of robbery arrestees were male. (See Table 42.) By race, 54.4 percent of robbery arrestees were black, 43.9 percent were white, and the remainder were of other races. (See Table 43.) Further breakdowns of robbery arrestees by age and sex are presented in Tables 39 and 40.

Table 2.18
Robbery by Month

Percent Distribution, 1999-2003

Month       1999   2000   2001   2002   2003

January      8.9    8.6    8.3    8.8    8.6
February     7.3    7.1    6.5    6.7    6.5
March        7.7    7.7    7.6    7.6    8.0
April        7.6    7.5    7.4    7.4    8.0
May          8.1    8.1    8.1    8.0    8.4
June         8.1    7.9    8.0    7.9    8.2
July         8.7    8.7    8.7    8.8    8.8
August       8.8    9.0    8.7    8.9    8.7
September    8.3    8.5    8.5    8.8    8.4
October      8.8    9.1    9.7    9.1    9.0
November     8.6    8.7    9.2    8.6    8.4
December     9.2    9.0    9.4    9.2    9.1

Table 2.19
Robbery

Percent Distribution by Region, 2003

                         United
                         States
Type                     total    Northeast   Midwest   South   West

Total (1)                 100.0     100.0      100.0    100.0   100.0
Street/highway             43.4      56.9       47.1     37.0    43.1
Commercial house           14.6       9.6       11.5     15.4    17.6
Gas or service station      2.7       3.8        3.4      2.4     2.4
Convenience store           6.2       6.0        5.0      7.4     5.2
Residence                  13.7       9.3       12.1     18.7     9.9
Bank                        2.3       2.6        2.2      1.9     2.7
Miscellaneous              17.0      11.8       18.7     17.1    19.1

(1) Because of rounding, the percentages may not add to 100.0.

Table 2.20
Robbery

Percent Distribution by Population Group, 2003

                         Group I (58 cities,   Group II (146 cities,
                          250,000 and over;     100,000 to 249,999;
                             population             population
Type                         37,217,317)            21,875,380)

Total (1)                       100.0                  100.0
Street/highway                   51.7                   43.6
Commercial house                 12.3                   16.6
Gas or service station            1.7                    2.8
Convenience store                 4.5                    6.6
Residence                        12.6                   13.1
Bank                              1.5                    2.5
Miscellaneous                    15.6                   14.8

                           Group III (353       Group IV (684
                         cities, 50,000 to    cities, 25,000 to
                         99,999; population   49,999; population
Type                        24,412,026)          23,742,865)

Total (1)                      100.0                100.0
Street/highway                  42.2                 33.4
Commercial house                15.3                 16.5
Gas or service station           3.3                  4.2
Convenience store                7.0                  8.6
Residence                       12.0                 12.7
Bank                             2.7                  3.6
Miscellaneous                   17.5                 21.1

                                                   Group VI (5,925
                         Group V (1,512 cities,     cities, under
                           10,000 to 24,999;      10,000; population
Type                     population 23,834,682)      19,204,778)

Total (1)                        100.0                  100.0
Street/highway                    28.6                   25.4
Commercial house                  17.5                   14.9
Gas or service station             4.8                    4.4
Convenience store                  8.5                   10.1
Residence                         14.6                   14.3
Bank                               3.9                    3.6
Miscellaneous                     22.1                   27.3

                         County agencies (3,302 agencies;
Type                          population 74,231,706)

Total (1)                             100.0
Street/highway                         31.2
Commercial house                       17.9
Gas or service station                  3.7
Convenience store                       7.9
Residence                              19.5
Bank                                    2.7
Miscellaneous                          17.0

(1) Because of rounding, the percentages may not add to 100.0.

Table 2.21
Robbery, Types of Weapons Used

Percent Distribution by Region, 2003

                                             Armed

                                      Knives or
             Total all                 cutting      Other
Region      weapons (1)   Firearms   instruments   weapons   Strongarm

Total          100.0        41.8         8.9         9.4       39.9
Northeast      100.0        35.0        11.2         8.6       45.2
Midwest        100.0        43.4         6.3        10.0       40.3
South          100.0        47.9         8.0         9.6       34.6
West           100.0        35.3        10.3         9.5       44.9

(1) Because of rounding, the percentages may not add to 100.0