“Perdeu, perdeu! Isso é um assalto!” : uma análise dos processos de decisão, planejamento, execução e uso da força nos roubos em Belo Horizonte.

Abstract

This dissertation aims at analyzing the cognitive and practical processes that guide the decision-making, planning, execution and the use during force of robberies in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. This research is grounded on Rational Choice and Street Culture theories. The sources of data for this study are in-depth interviews with 41 individuals who are judicially liable for the crime of robbery, as well as official records of robberies in the capital of Minas Gerais from between 2012 and 2017. The analytical and methodological strategy relies on the triangulation of this information and has as its structuring axis categories constructed during the thefts experienced and narrated by the interviewees. In the first stage of the research, the results demonstrate that, although robbery a patrimonial crime, the decision-making process for robbery is not always driven by economic and material interests. Indeed, a substantial part of robberies are motivated by the search for easy and fast money and valuables, which are almost immediately spent with "tanning" and consumer goods that give prestige. However, significant part of robberies are associated with non-material motivations, including emotional and cultural factors, as well as factors unrelated to the will of the offender. The second stage of the thesis examines how thieves organize themselves to plan and execute robberies. Specifically, this part seeks to understand to what extent the planning and context of robberies are guided by impulsiveness and opportunity and / or by more organized and structured criteria. In this context, the data show four types of robbery configurations: i) the unplanned robberies; (ii) the little-planned robberies; iii) the average-planned robberies and iv) the very-planned robberies. The third part of the research analyzes the use of force, a cross-cutting theme that defines robberies. The data show that the type and degree of violence used during robberies is associated with the context and with how the victim reacted to the robbery, with the perpetrator's experience with committing robberies, with the type of weapon the offender possesses, and with the type of target. In general, results indicate that most robberies are more strongly related to impulsive and opportunity criteria than on structured and organized procedures. In fact, the whole decision-making, planning and execution of a robbery takes, on average, a few minutes or seconds. This research also highlights how chaotic, fluid, and dynamic are robberies and the behavior of their perpetrators. Results also show that robberies can employ different planning configurations and that it is not the type of robbery that determines how the crime will be executed. Generally, any one perpetrator is not restricted to a single type of robbery or to executing a robbery the same exact way. Offenders can have multiple types of targets, and often employ different configuration in their planning and execution of robberies. Moreover, practically all perpetrators were involved in other types of crimes and / or legal paid work during their criminal trajectory. Rarely do we see a gradual evolution from less elaborate and profitable robberies to more sophisticated and profitable ones. Generally, data describes a discontinuous and unspecialized process, carried out by perpetrators who are immersed in a street culture and who are mostly driven by the opportunities which occur naturally during offender’s daily routines, or though the interaction with a network of friends. Moreover, these opportunities often present themselves moments before the actual execution of the robbery.