You are more likely to be robbed on a Monday, Friday or Saturday, particularly between 11pm and midnight, research has revealed.
Victims of street muggings in Basildon are usually white men, aged 20 to 50. The robbers are generally white males, aged 15 to 23.
Pitsea and Basildon are the mugging hotspots of the district - 70 per cent of street robberies occur here.
Now police chiefs have declared war on robbers and bogus callers by making dealing with their crimes a priority.
A plan of action is being drafted to try to reduce "significantly" the number of offences.
Supt Glenn Caton, Basildon police operations manager, said robberies were occurring at an average of 16 a month across the district.
He said: "Both these types of crime effect people personally and the increase since the start of the new year has given us cause for concern.
"We are developing a plan of action to tackle both these offences."
In January to March last year, there were 46 street robberies in Basildon, compared with 50 in the same period this year.
Published Wednesday April 7, 2004
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