Analyzing bank robbery in Italy

Abstract

Even though recent data show a decrease in the number of attacks and in the incidence of crimes committed by professional offenders, bank robbery is still a relevant issue in most American and European cities. Still, very few recent studies analyze this topic and most of them overlook the spatial and temporal patterns of this crime. This chapter analyzes the main characteristics of bank robberies occurred between 2005 and 2010 in Italy, which is the European country constantly recording the highest number of bank robberies. In particular, it focuses on the analysis of repeat victimization and its peculiarities since previous studies demonstrate the relevance of this phenomenon for bank robbery. Moreover, a further in-depth analysis investigates the victimization patterns in the Italian city of Milan from a spatio-temporal perspective. The general aim of this chapter is to update the knowledge about this type of crime considering its recent evolutions in connection with the innovations in the banking systems.