ROBBERY

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Topic 15
Robbery
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Introduction
Robbery is defined in the Theft Act 1968.
According to s.8 A person is guilty of robbery
if he steals, and immediately before or at the
time of doing so, he uses force on any person or
puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being
subjected to force.
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Actus reus (1)
Robbery is theft aggravated by the threat or use
of force, so its actus reus overlaps with that
for theft (appropriation of property belong to
another) but has the additional requirement of
force or threat of force on any person
immediately before or at the time of stealing.
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Actus reus (2)
In robbery, the appropriation does not have to be
complete, as long as the defendant assumes one of
the rights of the owner. Corcoran v Anderton
(1980) One of the defendants hit the victim
across the back, while the other pulled at her
handbag. The victim screamed as the handbag fell
to the ground and the defendants ran off
empty-handed. The defendants were found guilty of
robbery. The appropriation occurred when the
defendant grabbed the bag. It did not matter that
the bag was then dropped, as he had assumed at
least one of the rights of the owner when he
grabbed it. The theft was complete and therefore
the charge was one of robbery rather than
attempted robbery.
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Actus reus (3)
The force does not need to be applied directly to
the victim but can be applied to the property. R
v Clouden (1987) The defendant wrenched a
shopping bag from the victims hand. The Court of
Appeal held that the force applied to the
property was sufficient to amount to robbery. R v
Dawson and James (1976) One of the defendants
nudged the victim in the back so that he lost his
balance. The other defendant took the victims
wallet. The amount of force used was sufficient
to be classed as a robbery. The word force has
been interpreted in the ordinary sense to the
word. It does not require any violence.
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Actus reus (4)
Continuing act One defendant can apply the force
while the other defendant commits the theft. The
theft can be seen as a continuing act. R v Hale
(1978)The defendants forced their way into the
victims house. One of the defendants went
upstairs and stole a jewellery box while the
other used force to tie up the victim. The Court
of Appeal upheld their conviction for robbery,
despite the fact that it was impossible to say
whether the theft occurred at the same time as
the force. The theft was a continuing act and
therefore it was still happening when the victim
was being tied up.
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Mens rea
The mens rea of robbery is the mens rea of theft
(dishonesty and intention to permanently deprive)
plus the intentional or reckless application of
force. R v Robinson (1977) The victim owed the
defendant money. The defendant used a knife to
threaten the victim. The victim dropped a 5 note
that the defendant took as part payment of the 7
he was owed. The Court of Appeal quashed his
conviction for robbery, as the jury at his trial
should have been allowed to consider whether he
was not acting dishonestly owing to the fact that
he honestly believed that he had a right in law
to take the money.
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Evaluation (1)

• The current law of robbery affords three main
  criticisms relating to the
• degree of force required
• lack of any distinction between different types
  of robbery
• large increase in the number of robberies being
  committed
• Only 3 of robberies result in a conviction and
  the majority of robberies are committed using a
  threat of force rather than actual force.

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Evaluation (2)
Degree of force required The degree of force
required to turn a theft into a robbery is
slight, yet the difference in punishment ranges
from a maximum of 7 years imprisonment for theft
to life imprisonment for robbery.
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Evaluation (3)
No distinction between different types of
robbery Robbery is an indictable offence that
must be tried at the Crown Court. Andrew Ashworth
(2002) suggests that there should be two types of
robbery a lesser charge where the force is
slight and a more serious charge where the force
is greater. The less serious robberies could be
tried at the Magistrates Court and the serious
robberies would continue to be tried at the Crown
Court. This would save the courts valuable time
and money.
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Evaluation (4)
Increase in robberies There has been a massive
increase in the number of robberies that are
reported to the police. This is especially true
of incidents involving street muggings for mobile
phones. In 2002, Lord Woolf encouraged the use of
prison sentences for such offences. However,
because of the low conviction rates and the fact
that most defendants aged under 18 receive a
community-based sentence for robbery, it is
unlikely that there is much of a deterrent
associated with such crimes.