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Introduction
Research demonstrates that crime does not 'occur randomly or uniformly in time or space or society,' (Wortley and Mazerolle, 2008, p. 78). With respect to spatial patterns, crime can be seen to cluster, often focussing around particular localities or with a regularity that does not simply reflect the distribution of opportunities for that crime. Such findings inform both criminological understanding and crime reduction effort.
In recent years, the robbery of cash-in-transit (CIT) custodians or vehicles (hereafter CIT robbery) has risen in the United Kingdom. CIT robbery comprises any robbery where a CIT custodian or vehicle has been attacked, with the intention of taking property. In London CIT robbery rose from 236 incidents in 2005/2006, to 479 in 2007/2008. For the most successful attacks, the offender will escape with around £25 000, and so with a possible cumulative loss of £1.2 million in 2007/2008 in London alone it is not difficult to see why this type of crime has risen or to make a case for better understanding it. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about this type of robbery and consequently in this article we examine patterns of CIT robbery to determine if the spatial patterns observed for other types of crime are evident for CIT events.
In the past it appeared that CIT robberies 'attracted the attention of "professionals"; those who are dedicated and skilled and better able to manage the risks associated with their offending' (Gill, 2001, p. 277). However, analysis of changes in the modus operandi (MO) of CIT crimes in London suggests that they may be increasingly more opportunistic acts. For example, the fraction of CIT attacks that involved the use of a weapon (real or intimated) fell from approximately 40 per cent in 2005/2006, to 30 per cent in 2006/2007 and to 10 per cent in 2007/2008. 1 Moreover, many offences appear to follow a snatch-and-grab MO where the CIT custodian is confronted in the street. To put these changes into context, nearly 30 per cent of offences took place inside delivery venues in 2005/2006, but in 2007/2008 only 3 per cent did. For the majority of incidents reported, it also appears that the most vulnerable part of the delivery process is targeted by offenders, thus minimizing the risk...