Armed Robbery

by Andrew Alexander

When it comes to the sheer audacity, meticulous planning and outright daring, few crimes can rival the high-profile, multi-million pound, armed robberies. Some throw-up colourful characters others criminal masterminds. Thus, it is easy to see why these crimes continue to be the subject of constant fascination. Whether they are the work of teams of highly trained robbers or gifted amateurs, here are the ten biggest armed robberies in British history.

This 20,000-word review gives an insight into the conception, planning and execution of the ten crimes that between them netted over £450 million at today’s prices.

The crimes

• The Securitas Depot Robbery (2006)
• The Graff Diamonds Robbery (2009)
• The Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre Robbery (1987)
• The Northern Bank Robbery (2004)
• The Brinks-MAT Robbery (1983)
• The Graff Diamonds Robbery (2003)
• The Midland Bank Clearing Centre Robbery (1995)
• The Security Express Robbery (1983)
• The Great Train Robbery (1963)
• The Baker Street Robbery (1971).

True Crimes

Jeremy Bamber – Slaughter at White House Farm
Levi Bellfield – The Bus Stop Stalker
David Berkowitz – The Son of Sam
Ted Bundy – The College Girl Killer
Buono and Bianchi – The Hillside Stranglers
John Christie – The 10 Rillington Place Murders
Dale Cregan – Gangland Enforcer
Jeffrey Dahmer – The Milwaukee Cannibal
Joanna Dennehy – The ‘Man-Woman’ Murderer
Ruth Ellis – The Last Woman to be Hanged
Kenneth Erskine – The Stockwell Strangler
Stephen Griffiths – The Crossbow Cannibal
Anthony Hardy – The Camden Ripper
John Haigh – The Acid Bath Murders
Brady and Hindley – The Moors Murderers
Colin Ireland – The Gay Slayer
Donald Neilson – The Black Panther
Dennis Nilsen – The Muswell Hill Murderer
Harold Shipman – Doctor Death
George Joseph Smith – Brides in the Bath
Peter Sutcliffe – The Yorkshire Ripper
Johann ‘Jack’ Unterweger – International Serial Killer
Fred and Rose West – The House of Horrors
Steve Wight – The Suffolk Strangler
Aileen Wuornos – The Hitchhiker From Hell
Jack the Stripper – The Hammersmith Murders
Australian Serial Killers
Criminals Who Become Killers
Female Serial Killers
Killers Who Kill Again In Prison
Lesbian Serial Killers
Spree Killers
Whole Life Sentences
World’s Worse Serial Killers

98 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2015