1999 Annual Report

Robbery

Robbery is 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 by putting the victim in fear. This crime includes muggings, purse snatchings, and bank hold-ups.

Robbery is theft in which the offender confronts the victim and steals the victim’s property through force or threat of force. It includes “muggings” and “hold-ups,” though the offender does not need to display a weapon (and about half of them do not) for the crime to be categorized as a robbery.

Robbery is usually committed on the street, in the dark, by an offender or offenders who the victim does not know. The confrontational, threatening nature of the crime has a strong influence on the behavior of the public. Robbery is one of the crimes most often considered by a citizen when he or she gauges the general “safety” of an area.

Robberies are divided into robberies of institutions (e.g., banks, convenience stores) and robberies of individuals. These are colloquially known as commercial robbery and street robbery. Commercial Robbery makes up less than 10 percent of the robbery total in Cambridge. Unlike assault, robbery statistics are fairly sound; robbery victims are very likely to report the crime.

1999’s robbery total is the lowest reported in Cambridge since the mid-1960s (when we started measuring crime). Commercial robbery, which has plunged from an average of 100 a year in the 1980s to 18 in 1999, is probably at the lowest point since the days of stagecoach hold-ups.

1998 had reported an increase of 18% in robbery, but the subsequent decrease in 1999 suggests that 1998’s total was a brief upward bump in an otherwise steady downward trend.

Commercial Robbery describes the taking or attempted taking of anything of value from the care or custody of a commercial or financial establishment. Examples of this crime include the bank heist, the cab stick-up, and the convenience store hold-up.

From 1970 to 1990, Cambridge averaged 100 commercial robberies annually, but starting in 1990, it began to swiftly plummet, totaling only 18 in 1999. Nationally, commercial robbery accounts for 28% of total robberies; in Cambridge, in 1999, it made up only 11%. A yearly total of 18 commercial robberies for a city the size of Cambridge is astonishingly low. An average city of our size has around 50.

Commercial Robberies by Location Type

Cambridge statistics do reflect a national decline in commercial robbery since the 1980s. A number of factors account for this trend, including increased security measures at gas stations (plexi-glass booths), convenience stores (drop safes, silent alarms), and banks (dye packs, better surveillance cameras, “man traps”); the Cambridge Police Department’s Park & Walk program, which increases police visibility in vulnerable areas; and the disappearance of the particular breed of criminal who commits commercial hold-ups.

One regional trend seen in eastern Massachusetts in 1999 was reflected in Cambridge: the reversal of decreases in bank robbery. The FBI’s Boston Bank Robbery Task Force reported a 57% increase in bank robbery between 1997 and 1998 and said in December that numbers were high for 1999 as well. Much of this increase they attribute to serial bank robbers—given lurid nicknames like “The Surgeon,” “Geraldine,” and “Pizza Man”—who rob maybe half a dozen banks before they’re arrested—as three quarters of them invariable are.

Such, too, was the case in Cambridge in 1999. One man robbed the Cambridge Trust bank at 1720 Massachusetts Avenue three times between July and September before he was arrested. Another man robbed the Fleet Bank in Central Square twice between January and March and was never caught. Another group of serial bank robbers struck the Wainwright Bank on Alewife Brook Parkway in April; it was their first robbery in Cambridge, and their last robbery anywhere: the FBI was staking out the bank and arrested all the robbers, who were four 22-35 year old men from Charlestown and Somerville.

Geographic Breakdown of Commercial Robberies

There were no other commercial robbery series in 1999. Two of the convenience store robberies occurred at the same location—the White Hen Pantry at 2245 Massachusetts Avenue—but involved different robbers.

 Four commercial robberies involved the use of a handgun, and in six others a gun was implied (e.g., the robber made motions in his jacket as if he had a gun). In five cases, no weapon was used. The other three robberies were committed with a knife, chemical spray, and a wooden pole.

The Cambridge Police Department made arrests in three of the 18 commercial robberies. Arrestees included a 43-year-old man from Medford (who robbed a variety store on Massachusetts Avenue on January 6), the four Charlestown and Somerville men who robbed the Wainwright Bank on April 7, and two men living on Pearl Street who robbed a taxi cab on June 21 in Central Square.

“Street robbery” describes all robberies committed against individuals, as opposed to commercial establishments. Despite the name, a “street” robbery does not necessarily have to occur on the street, although more than 75% of them do. Examples of street robberies are “muggings,” “carjackings,” and “purse snatchings.”

 After years of steady decline, street robbery showed an increase of 23% between 1997 and 1998, from 154 to 189. The 1997 total was the lowest recorded in the city in over 30 years; the 1998 total was the second lowest. The crime peaked in 1990 at 329 incidents.

 A long-term trend analysis of street robbery reveals 12 recurring scenarios:

 Acquaintance Robberies: Related to the Domestic Robbery and the Homeless Robbery (see below), Acquaintance Robberies are committed by someone the victim knows. Common scenarios include drinking buddies robbing each other after a night at the bar, friends turning on each other, drug disputes, and robberies between co-workers.

 Bikejackings: In this scenario, any number of attackers will approach a young (10–15 years old) male victim on a bicycle and, through force of numbers, knives, or other weapons, will demand the victim’s bike. Often, the attacker simply shoves the victim off of his bicycle and takes it. In a good portion of bikejackings, the victim knows his attacker.

Bully Boys: Juvenile robberies of intimidation. In most occurrences, the victim knows the perpetrators. Committed by and against school-aged youths, they occur on the way home from school, or at playgrounds, malls, parks, and skating rinks. Two to four juvenile males usually strong-arm their victim, stealing such things as his jacket, hat, or lunch money.

Carjackings: In this scenario, a lone predator will approach a victim entering or exiting his or her car, or when stopped at a traffic light. In no uncertain terms, the robber will order the victim out of the vehicle and demand the keys.

Dial-a-Victim: These are robberies of delivery service personnel. A delivery person is intercepted before entering a phony location by suspects brandishing a knife or gun. Arrests made in 1993 had a major impact in curtailing this crime.

Domestic Robberies: The domestic robbery is a relatively new scenario which has emerged over the past several years. In these incidents, the perpetrator is usually an ex-boyfriend, who uses force in street confrontations to take back jewelry or cash. Family robberies are also on the rise: husbands robbing their wives, brothers robbing their sisters, and estranged children robbing their parents or grandparents. Many of these robberies involve past debts.

Home Invasions: One of the most serious robbery types, home invasions involve robbers entering their victim’s homes, usually at night, subduing the residents (sometimes by tying them), and robbing the home. Fortunately, this type of robbery is rare in Cambridge, and when it occurs, the victim usually knows the robber or robbers.

Homeless Robberies: The homeless robbery is a sad scenario reflecting urban life in the 1990s: homeless people robbing each other. The majority of these robberies occur in the vicinity of Central and Harvard Squares, or at various shelters. The victim usually knows with the perpetrator, and in many cases, both are intoxicated. Property stolen ranges from a bottle of wine to a blanket to a pair of shoes. Homeless robberies are sometimes precipitated by past debts, real or imaginary.

Pack Robberies: In this situation, a group of three to eight young males will stalk victims around shopping malls, MBTA stations, streets, parks, and recreational areas. The majority of these robberies occur on Friday or Saturday nights, when the “pack” is returning from a dance or party. The robberies are not always premeditated, but the victim—typically a male between the ages of 15 and 25, walking alone—simply ends up on the wrong place at the wrong time. Weapons are seldom used, but strong-arm tactics are applied. Usually, the victim is knocked to the ground or ordered to lie down while the robbers shake him down for his wallet, watch, or other valuables.

Predatory Robberies: This type of street robbery has the most pronounced effect on a citizen’s perception of safety. Predatory robberies are synonymous with “muggings.” In the typical scenario, one or two men approach the victim with a knife or gun and demand cash. The danger of serious injury is ever present. In recent years, predatory robbers have become cruder and less controlled, pushing and kicking their victims. Cambridge typically experiences more two-person predatory robberies than any other type.

Purse Snatch: The purse snatcher is generally unarmed, and has little intent to cause injury. After “casing” a victim—a female carrying a purse, bag, or wallet—this robber runs up from behind—on foot or on a bicycle—and snatches the item out of the victim’s hands or off her shoulder before she can react, often effecting a “body check” in the process.

Geography

The neighborhoods reporting the highest street robbery totals in 1999 were Area 4, Cambridgeport, East Cambridge, and the Inman/Harrington neighborhood. Area 4 and Cambridgeport, together making up most of “Central Square,” traditionally report the highest robbery totals. Central Square has long been a robbery hot spot for several reasons, including its high pedestrian traffic, its proximity to bars, its MBTA subway stop, its comparatively high “street” population; and its reputation as a drug trafficking area.

Street Robbery by Neighborhood