This report examines armed robbery in Australia for the period 2009 through 2010.
Highlights of the report's findings include the following: overall, long-term trends indicate that both the rate of armed robbery and the number of victims have decreased since 2003, 24 percent and 36 percent, respectively; one-third of armed robberies took place on the street or footpath, and knives were the most commonly used weapon in 5 or 6 out of every 10 incidences; 6 out of 10 victims were males aged 15 to 39 years, while the average age of offenders was 23 years; older individuals were victimized at a lower rate than younger individuals; a disproportionate number of armed robberies occurred between midnight and 5:59 am on Saturdays and Sundays; and weapon use varied with location, with knives or similar weapons being used for incidences at more opportunistic locations. Data for this report came from the National Armed Robbery Monitoring Program (NARMP) dataset which collects information on incidences of armed robbery from police in all Australian jurisdictions. The data in this report is organized into five sections: Key trends in armed robbery between 2003 and 2010; Characteristics of victims and offenders in 2009 and 2010; Physical aspects of recent armed robberies, such as location and time; The objects associated with armed robbery - the weapons used and the types of property taken in 2009 and 2010; and A case study exploring patterns and characteristics of the small number of female armed robbers. Tables, figures, and appendixes