Wright, Richard T. : University of Missouri - St. Louis
Professors of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Wright and Decker
are co-authors of Burglars on the Job : Streetlife and Residential Break-ins (Northeastern University Press),
winner of the 1995 SSSP Crime and Delinquency Outstanding Scholarship Award.
Decker, Scott H. : University of Missouri - St. Louis
Scott H. Decker are both Professors of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri - St.
Louis. Decker and Wright are co-authors of Burglars on the Job : Streetlife and Residential Break-ins (Northeastern
University Press), winner of the 1995 SSSP Crime and Delinquency Outstanding Scholarship Award.
Shover, Neal : University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Neal Shover is Professor of Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is the author of Aging
Criminals and Great Pretenders : Pursuits and Careers of Persistent Thieves.
Geis, Gilbert : University of California-Irvine.
Gilbert Geis is Professor Emeritus in the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine.
Summary
One of the most feared crimes among urban dwellers, armed robbery poses a serious risk of injury or death, and
presents daunting challenges for law enforcement. Yet, little is known about the complex factors that motivate
assailants who use a weapon to take property by force or threat of force.
Based on no-holds-barred interviews with active armed robbers in St. Louis, Missouri, this groundbreaking volume
sheds new light on the process of committing armed robbery. It is not like previous studies of robbery, which focus
on the often distorted accounts of incarcerated offenders. Richard T. Wright and Scott H. Decker conducted dangerous,
life-threatening field research on the streets of St. Louis to obtain more forthright responses from robbers about
their motives and methods. They also visited several crime scenes to examine how situational and spatial features
of the setting contributed to the offense. Quoting extensively from their conversations with the offenders, the
authors consider the circumstances underlying the decision to commit an armed robbery, explore how and why targets
are chosen, and detail the various tactics used in a hold-up.
By analyzing the criminals' candid perspectives on their actions and their social environment, the authors provide
a fuller understanding of armed robbery. They conclude with an insightful discussion of the implications of their
findings for crime prevention policy.