[123] THE MANAGEMENT OF A MUGGING

has focused on the social psychology of illness. He is currently continuing research on street crime and its effects. THE TERM &dquo;MUGGING,&dquo; as it is used in everyday speech, refers to acts of robbery committed in public and semipublic places, usually by young and unskilled predators. In two of its essential aspects, its execution and effect on the members of urban society, the dominant characteristic of the mugging derives from the fact that force or the threat of force is used to obtain compliance from the victim. Robberies of this kind evoke the most fearful image of crime: the possibility of physical violence at the hands of strangers, as well as property theft (Conklin, 1972: 5).’ In contrast to the public indignation and journalistic concern generated by this type of street crime (e.g., Stevens, 1971; Hunt, 1972; Willerth, 1974), the phenomenon suffers fro