Boys forced off bikes and robbed by men in transit van while out cycling

QUOTE:
Two teenage boys were forced to get off their bikes and had them robbed whilst they were out cycling in Yorkshire.

At around 6.45pm the boys were cycling in Wyke Lane, Oakenshaw on Friday, June 6, when they were robbed of their mountain bikes.

The suspects were driving a white transit van and pulled over and forced the boys off their before driving off.

West Yorkshire Police say that the van is believed to have been seen in Wyke Village and Low Moor earlier in the afternoon.

The suspects are described as a white male and a black male, both in their late teens/early 20s. The victims were uninjured.

Officers are appealing for anyone who witnessed the robbery or anyone who saw the vehicle driving in the area around the time.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or using the online chat service quoting crime reference number 13200281514 .

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/...d-men-18393174

On 10/06/2020 17:36, Simon Mason wrote:
QUOTE:
Two teenage boys were forced to get off their bikes and had them robbed whilst they were out cycling in Yorkshire.

At around 6.45pm the boys were cycling in Wyke Lane, Oakenshaw on Friday, June 6, when they were robbed of their mountain bikes.

The suspects were driving a white transit van and pulled over and forced the boys off their before driving off.

West Yorkshire Police say that the van is believed to have been seen in Wyke Village and Low Moor earlier in the afternoon.

The suspects are described as a white male and a black male, both in their late teens/early 20s. The victims were uninjured.

Officers are appealing for anyone who witnessed the robbery or anyone who saw the vehicle driving in the area around the time.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or using the online chat service quoting crime reference number 13200281514 .

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/...d-men-18393174

Dear me...

"Two teenage boys were forced to get off their bikes and had them
*robbed*..."?

Is that the standard of English demanded of reporters at "The Examiner"?

Are the verbs "rob" and "steal" not distinguished (for their completely
different meanings) in that journal?