Police say some criminals have taken to calling their robberies at gunpoint of people on Akron streets a ''hood tax,'' part of a growing number of robberies involving guns.

''I would say we are definitely having more robberies involving guns,'' said Akron Police Detective Lt. David Whiddon of the crimes-against-persons unit.

The number of robbery incidents has risen steadily in recent years.

In 2004, Akron reported 589 robberies. In 2005, the number was 600 and in 2006, the number jumped to 686.

The numbers for this year are incomplete, but Whiddon believes the pace is about the same as in 2006. But guns are being used much more frequently in robberies, he said.

Police Chief Michael Matulavich agrees with Whiddon's assessment.

''There is no question that there are more guns
out there on the streets,'' said Matulavich, adding that people being arrested with guns are younger, many in their early teens.

Youthful bravado is playing into some of the robberies, police said.

That seemed to be the case last week when two young men in ski masks confronted a man walking to a South Arlington Street video store.

The victim, 28, told police he was walking to Family Video at about 10:30 p.m. when he was approached by the two, who pulled handguns and announced: ''This is hood tax.''

The victim said he understood ''hood tax'' to mean he should surrender his cash and valuables.

When the victim emptied his pockets and produced a cell phone and $1.35 in cash, he was pistol-whipped, suffering cuts to his head and face, police said. The assailants fled.

Other incidents

On Oct. 30, two men walked in off the street and put a gun to the head of a man, 39, inside a South Arlington Street barber shop. The victim was forced to strip and $600 was taken from him.

Early on Oct. 21, the ''hood tax'' cost Mike Hosey, 19, 75 cents — and nearly his life.

''They shot me in the back,'' said Hosey, lifting his shirt to reveal the black dime-size entry wound just below his left shoulder blade. The bullet exited just under his left arm pit.

Hosey and two of his friends were robbed at gunpoint by two masked men who confronted them on North Arlington Street and demanded that the three empty their pockets.

Hosey said he and his friends were walking on North Arlington near East Market Street at 4:15 a.m. after leaving a relative's home nearby.

''I called my mom and she was coming to pick us up,'' Hosey said, sitting at his kitchen table a week after the shooting.

''I see these two guys with red bandanas on their faces walking toward us. The next thing I know they pulled guns, .22-calibers, and put them in our face. They said: 'Empty your pockets,''' Hosey recalled.

''I told them I didn't have nothing. They ended up taking my cell phone and seventy-five cents. Then one of them shot me,'' Hosey said.

'A lot of blood'

At first, Hosey didn't realize he had been shot, but then he felt a burning in his back.

At that point, his mother, Rhonda Hosey, arrived on the scene.

''His friends came running to the car screaming 'Mike's been shot. Mike's been shot,''' she recalled.

She said what was most vivid for her was her son's blood as his friends lifted him into the rear seat of the car.

''There was a lot of blood, a lot of blood,'' she said, adding that she barely remembers driving to the emergency room of Akron City Hospital.

''I have no idea how I made it to the hospital. I was in a fog,'' she said.

''I thank God he is still with me,'' she said, reaching out to touch her son.

Hosey remembers the entire incident happening in an instant. He said he believes his assailants got out of a car that had passed by him and his friends minutes before the attack.

''They just walked up on us . . . I never thought something like this would happen to me . . . The doctors said I was very lucky. If the bullet had gone straight instead of coming out the side . . . '' Hosey said, shaking his head.

Matulavich, the police chief, said most of the robberies are spur-of-the-moment crimes.

''They are not planned out. They are crimes of opportunity,'' he said, adding that criminals spot a potential victim — someone they think is vulnerable — and strike.

Dispatcher assaulted

Police say that was likely the case when a man mugged a police dispatcher in the shadow of police headquarters on South High Street as she was on her way to work Tuesday night.

''The suspect spotted her as she was walking from her car,'' Matulavich said.

He said a man who pushed the woman down and took her purse has been identified and an arrest is imminent.

Whiddon said that the robberies have taken place across Akron — from Highland Square, to South and East Akron to North Hill and around the University of Akron.

''I hate to say it, but these robberies are happening all over the place and they are happening all the time . . . They (robbers) see it as a quick and easy way to get money without much risk,'' Whiddon said.

He said that to improve safety, people should travel in groups; not walk around at night or in the early morning hours; and be aware of your surroundings.

If all that fails and you are confronted, Whiddon said: ''Give them what they want. Your wallet, money and cell phone aren't worth getting shot.''