Armed robbery in Australia: research, information and preventive considerations

Abstract

A perusal of the newspapers on any day in Sydney or Melbourne would clearly suggest that, with the possible exception of drug trafficking, armed robbery is the crime causing major public concern in Australia today. This offense lends itself to sensational newspaper reporting and therefore the real concerns of law abiding citizens may not necessarily be accurately reflected by the mass media. Nevertheless by any objective standard, the incidence of armed robbery in Australia has shown spectacular increase in the past four or five years.

As one contribution to the control of armed robbery in Australia, the Australian Institute of Criminology conducted a five day seminar attended by interested and relevant persons to consider three carefully defined facets of the problem, ie. human based research relative to investigation and prevention, armed robbery data dissemination and, hardware and building design. This publication contains edited copies of papers contributed to that seminar and comments made upon some of them. The resolutions passed by participants in respect of each of the facets addressed are included also, as a matter of public record.

Edited proceedings of a seminar held in Canberra in June 1977

Contents

  • Foreword
  • Tables
  • Contributors
  • Introduction
  • Summary of recommendations

Armed robbery in Australia

  • Armed robbery in Australia - its nature and extent

    Paul Delianis
  • Armed robbery in New South Wales and Victoria, 1975 and 1976

    AJ Sutton

Research

  • Research priorities in operational planning against armed holdups

    KL Milte & SI Miller
  • Comment

    RA McAulay
  • General comments on policy related research

    AJ Sutton
  • Robbery security in particular target locations

    Roseanne Bonney
  • Robbery, police, and research

    Bruce Swanton
  • Human based research relative to the investigation and prevention of armed robbery - resolution

Information

  • The need for a national armed robbery data service

    Paul Delianis
  • Comment

    Ian Rippon
  • Problems of data collection

    Roseanne Bonney
  • The establishment of an armed robbery information service - resolution

Prevention

  • The role of private agencies in the protective security function as it relates to armed robbery

    JF Ashby
  • Comment

    Arthur Brown
  • Antirobbery building design

    RM Ure
  • Employee related considerations concerning antirobbery building design

    Keith Salter
  • Antirobbery hardware - applications and research

    RR Powell
  • Security philosophies and action by the South Australian Totalizator Agency Board

    PC Page
  • Technological hardware and building design as defenses against armed robbery - resolution

Armed robbery in the USA

  • Federal bank robbery violations in the United States of America

    CM Kelley

 

  • Bibliography