Over the summer we reported a spike of burglaries in the Queen City. Now, crime statistics show robberies are also on the rise in Manchester.
Robbery numbers have jumped to unprecedented highs in the past three months. Manchester Police Lieutenant Maureen Tessier says that the department believes robberies are driven by the same problem as burglaries.
“While we don’t have specific data to specifically link these crimes to drug activity, without question our anecdotal information that we’re receiving at this point would indicate that a lot of these people are perpetrating because they have a substance abuse issue; primarily heroin or prescription drugs.”
Tessier says that they’re not always armed robberies, but when they are, the weapons can vary.
“Recently last week, we had a woman who used a metal pipe or rod which she was threatening the clerk with as she attempted to make a robbery at that store.”
Numbers provided by the police department show year-to-date robberies have already exceeded last year’s. And this year is on track to exceed last year’s rate of growth. Armed robberies in particular have experienced a marked increase from previous years: about 37% more than the past, five-year average.
Unlike burglaries, robberies are classified as a violent crime because force or the threat of force is used in the theft.