ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates some of the numerous and diverse methodologies utilised by Scottish robbers between 1660 and 1960. In Scotland, this variant of violence for gain was sometimes referred to as stouthrief in early court records, but as that particular term came to be associated with all sorts of elaborate theft, whether violent or otherwise, robbery was the preferred lexis in instances where aggression was evident and a capital charge deemed appropriate. Violent robbers have long held a fascination amongst the Scottish populace but as we have seen, unlike the case with the English history of this crime, Scottish perpetrators of violence for gain were not celebrated. Scottish robbers could be described as 'professional' in their criminal exploits in terms of the planning and organisation involved, their willingness to carry weapons, and evidence from the judicial statistics which suggests that recidivism was common especially after 1870.
