A woman was approached from behind and had her handbag snatched as she walked down a residential street.
The victim, a woman in her twenties, had the bag taken from her shoulder on Edward Avenue, Newark, at around 7.45pm on Monday 14 June.
Detectives, who are now appealing for witnesses and information, believe she walked by the suspect moments earlier as he was sat outside an address in nearby Victoria Street.
The man, described as slim, white, around 5ft 5ins tall, with short brown hair and aged in his late teens to early twenties.
The stolen bag was made of a shiny black material and had a gold chain as a shoulder strap.
Immediately after that attack the suspect fled along Victoria Street in the direction of Newark town centre.
Detective Constable Timothy McDonnell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Thankfully the victim in this case was not injured but this was a frightening and unpleasant ordeal for her.
“Robbery is a very serious offence and we are determined to track down the person responsible and would like to speak to anyone who may have seen a suspect fitting this description in the minutes leading up to or following the incident.
“We would particularly like to speak to anyone who has any relevant CCTV or dashcam footage of the area at the time.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call 101 quoting incident 792 of 14 June. Alternatively they can speak to Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.