Patterns of Force, Sequences of Resistance: Revisiting Luckenbill with Robberies Caught on Camera

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard
  • Thomas Daniël De Vries
  • Wim Bernasco
Robberies are improvised encounters involving offender threat, sometimes force, and often victim resistance. While the association between threat, force, and resistance in robberies is well-established, sequential patterns are disputed due to biases of retrospective studies. To overcome these biases, we draw on CCTV camera recordings of 49 store robberies. Tentative findings suggest that lethal threat reduces victim resistance and thereby offender violence, except in robberies where offenders depend on victims in accessing the valuables. In those robberies, lethal threat increases the likelihood of victim resistance despite having no effect on offender violence. By providing more reliable and detailed accounts of real-life behavior during robberies, our analysis illustrates the potential of a newly emergent field of studies of crimes caught on camera.
Original languageEnglish
JournalDeviant Behavior
Volume39
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)421-436
ISSN0163-9625
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Jan 2018

ID: 188646777