Each State has unique and specific armed robbery laws. However, many states define armed robbery as the theft of property with the use of force. In addition, charges of armed robbery can sometimes be brought simply because the victim was in fear of physical harm. However, it is much easier to utilize armed robbery laws to press charges if the perpetrator inflicted harm on the victim or is in possession of a deadly weapon. 

In addition, armed robbery can lead to more serious charges. In fact, the felony murder doctrine can be utilized to bring more serious charges even if a death that resulted from the crime was accidental. Usually, murder charges require that the perpetrator intended to kill an individual. However, death that results from armed robbery or other felonies is considered felony murder because the death should have been foreseeable by the perpetrator.

Robbery in the first degree must include several factors. In most states, armed robbery is considered a violent felony and carries very serious sentences. For example, New York punishes robbery in the first degree as a Class B felony which carries sentences of at least five years, with penalties ranging up to twenty-five years. In general, these crimes include the use or presence of a deadly weapon. Generally, these crimes are seen in banks and other businesses. In addition, perpetrators sometimes use weapons to steal from victims on the street or in home invasion-type robberies. However, armed robberies are most commonly seen in businesses rather than residential settings.

Second degree robbery is differentiated by a shorter sentence because the crime is less serious in nature. In most states, armed robbery is treated as a first degree felony, which incurs long prison sentences. In general, states have a minimum sentence of at least five years for offenders that commit crimes of this type.

While each State will have unique armed robbery laws, each State considers armed robbery to be a violent offense. In order for that robbery to be defined as armed robbery, the perpetrator must have had a weapon or used force to achieve the theft. In contrast to burglary, the victim must be present in order to be defined according to armed robbery laws.

New York’s armed robbery laws are very strict and inflict harsh penalties on perpetrators. In fact, children are often charged as adults when they take any part in armed robbery. For example, a child that poses as a lookout while other young adults take part in robbing a store will likely face the same charges at the child holding the weapon. Like New York, many states treat armed robbery as a serious offense, which incurs harsh prison sentences.

Robbery cases involve the perpetrator obtaining the property of someone else through the use of intimation, threat, or force. In armed robbery cases, the perpetrator uses or presents a deadly weapon for the purpose of getting a victim to comply. The perpetrator does not even have to show the weapon to be charged with armed robbery, they simply have to have it in their possession. In fact, the perpetrator may not even have a weapon but behaves as if they do by making threats to use a weapon. In that case, the person could still be charged with armed robbery because the victims were in fear that a weapon would be used against them if they did not comply.

In all robbery cases the crime is a felony. However, armed robbery is considered as a higher degree or severity of crime than robberies committed without the use or threat of a weapon. In most armed robbery cases, guns are the weapon of choice for criminals intent on stealing their victims’ property.

Armed robbery statistics indicate that the crime is on the rise across the United States. In fact, violent crimes in general are on the rise. There are several factors that influence crime rates. First, hard economic times in the country have included a rise in many types of crime, including violent crimes and property crimes. In addition, some sociologists attribute the rise in crime to the prevalence of violence in the entertainment industry. When violence is repeatedly viewed, people tend to see it as a more acceptable manner of getting what they want. In addition, victims are reporting crimes at a higher rate than in the past. 

These factors, in combination with other intervening factors, have contributed to a rise in crime across the United States. In response, many jurisdictions are attempting to raise the minimum sentences for violent crimes as prescribed in sentencing guidelines.

Robbery cases are prosecuted according to their severity. The severity or degree of a crime is determined using several factors. If anyone is injured or killed during a robbery, the crime is charged with the highest severity and the offender will generally get the maximum sentence allowed by law. In addition, robbery cases that include a weapon are also prosecuted at a higher level than robberies that take place in the absence of a weapon.

Also, armed robbery that takes place at a financial institution such as a bank or credit union will be prosecuted in Federal court. While there are many types of robbery, and each type can be subject to differing sentences, robbery is always considered a serious and violent crime. Due to the nature of robbery, suspects that are convicted of the crime generally face at least five years in prison.

Sentencing guidelines for armed robbery are generally very severe. However, many factors play into those guidelines. First, armed robbery is almost always considered a class one, or class A felony. Those are crimes of the most serious nature, which often incur the longest and most harsh prison sentences. 

 

 

The perpetrator must be found guilty of committing a robbery with a weapon, or a device that appears like a weapon whether by deceit or assumption of the victim in order to be found guilty of first degree robbery. In addition, sentencing guidelines take into account the history of the offender. Even in first offenses, armed robbers are generally sentenced to long prison terms. However, repeat offenders are much more likely to face life in prison or even the death penalty depending on jurisdiction. 

 

 

Sentencing guidelines also take the circumstance of the crime into account. For example, if the crime took place in concurrence with other crimes, the sentence is likely to be longer, especially if injury or death resulted from the crime.

 

 

Sentencing for armed robbery can vary according to many factors. The severity of the crime, including the type of weapon utilized during the commission of the crime, will likely be considered. In addition, if any injuries or deaths resulted from the crime, the sentence will certainly be more harsh. In fact, the perpetrator can be charged with felony murder if any one dies as a result of the crime, even if the death was not intended. 

 

 

The  nature of felony murder charges simply mean that the perpetrators should have foreseen the possibility that death could occur as a result of their actions. In fact, the only intent necessary to face felony murder charges, is the intent to commit a felony, whether that felony is specified or not. In addition, judges sometimes have some discretion when deciding on sentencing. Yet, they must also comply with their states sentencing guidelines. 

 

 

For example, some states have sentencing guidelines that allow for a minimum of ten years, up to a maximum of life in prison for armed robbery. The judge can decide on any sentence that falls within those guidelines. In addition, some extenuating circumstances automatically add to the minimum sentencing. In Georgia, a person that commits armed robbery with the purpose of obtaining a controlled substance, from a pharmacist, doctor or other person, is subject to an added five year in addition to his original sentencing.

 

 

There are many variables presented at the time of a criminals sentencing, and those variables will have different results in different jurisdictions. It is difficult to explain a basic framework for sentencing guidelines as they relate to armed robbery. Each state has unique and specific laws that govern violent crimes. In addition, some states automatically add time to sentences of repeat offenders. The reality is that the same exact crime committed in three different states, may in fact, incur three totally different sentences.

 

Crime rate statistics indicate an increase in both violent crimes and property crimes in most areas of the United States. Armed robbery continues to be reported at an alarming rate across the country. In addition, armed robberies of financial institutions are also on the increase based on statistics from previous years. 

 

 

Ironically, property crimes committed in the absence of victim and perpetrator contact have also increased. Crimes like identity theft and theft through online banking have also increased significantly in recent times due to the availability of anonymity for offenders.

 

 

Many people in the law enforcement field believe that criminals will begin to lean toward those types of crimes in order to avoid being identified and apprehended as easily as when the crime is committed in person. In the meantime, violent crime rates continue to increase in concurrence with other types of property crime. Statistically, the increase in these crimes can be paralleled with the difficult economic times being experienced by many members of society.

 

 

Many armed robberies occur in financial institutions such as banks and credit unions. Crime rate statistics indicate that in banks, armed robbery is likely to happen in the early morning hours. In fact, bank employees tend to be especially vigilant during the morning hours. Whereas, armed robbery in convenience stores and other businesses tend to happen in the late evening hours when there is likely to be few witnesses. 

 

 

In order for the perpetrator to avoid having their voice be recorded on surveillance tapes, armed robbery often involves a demand note in order to get their victims to comply with all of their demands. Many times the combination of a deadly weapon, perceived or actual, with a demand note results in quick victim compliance during an armed robbery. 

 

 

Although crime rate statistics show that assault occurs rather frequently during armed robberies, murders are less common. In fact, the perpetrator is statistically more likely to be killed than the victims. It is also not very common for perpetrators to leave the robbery location while holding a victim hostage, unless law enforcement has already responded to the scene.

 

 

Crime rate statistics do not always paint a clear picture. First, each State may define and classify crimes differently. Also, success rates for solving crimes can be affected by many intervening factors, such as a suspect being apprehended in another State.

 

 

Generally, injuries that occur from armed robberies tend to be employees of banks or businesses or the perpetrators themselves, whereas deaths that result form armed robbery tend to include perpetrators or police officers as victims.

 

 

Regardless of crime rate statistics, armed robbery and other violent crimes continue to be a problem in this country. Even with laws that have provided for harsher sentencing guidelines, criminals continue to take part in these types of crimes