Last Sunday, a 73 year old woman who gave a man $1 when he requested it was then robbed by that same man for an additional $75. The incident took place by the Columbus Circle subway station.
Police surveillance footage published by CBS New York shows the suspect sneaking up behind the woman to then reach into her purse. While the suspect’s identity has not been revealed, the video displays a pretty clear shot of him.
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-577-TIPS or send a direct message on Twitter to @NYPDTips.
She wasn’t “robbed”. She was the victim of a theft. He stole from her, he didn’t rob her.
Seriously? Look up up your definitions. Thievery is markedly different than robbery, and you seem to have the meanings reversed.
“The crimes of theft and robbery can easily be confused because both involve taking someone else’s money or property. … Robbery differs from theft primarily in that it involves force or intimidation to take property from another person. It is the use of force that makes robbery, in most cases, the more serious crime.”
She’s 73.
It may also depend upon police politics. Years ago, my son was riding in the northern portions of Central Park and was pushed off his bike by 2 guys who then took away his bike. I went with my son to the Police Station in the park to report it. The Police officer who took down the information said he was writing it down as a theft. When I protested, saying that the bike had been forcibly taken and that this made it a robbery, the officer persisted in writing it down as a theft. As we were walking out, another person (I don’t know whether he was an officer or a civilian) told me that they were being pushed to report such things as thefts because the leadership needed to reduce the number of robberies in the park. To this day, I do not believe police statistics.