Robbery
Cards (5)
- Define Robbery:
- Theft Act 1968 s8(1) defines robbery as "a person if guilty of robbery if he steals, and immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, he uses force on any person or puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being then and there subjected to force."
The theft must be completed for it to be robbery (R v Zerei)If there is no theft, there is no robbery. - Robbery - AR and MRIn an IDEAC, the AR and MR of theft will have already been proven.2 additional elements for the AR and MR need to be proved to be guilty of robbery.AR:
- Using or threatening force
- Immediately before or at the time of the theft.
MR:- Intent or recklessness, as to the use or threat of force.
- Force was FOR the purpose of the theft.
- What amounts to force/threat of force?The word 'force' is given its ordinary meaning (Dawson and James).Force does not have to be direct force on the victim (Clouden - snatching shopping basket).(P v DPP) - D snatched cigarette from V's hand w/o touching V's hand - not 'force on the person' but still guilty of robbery.(B & R v DPP) - does not matter if V is put in fear - only D's intention matters.(Bentham) - as long as there is an intent to create fear it does not matter that the threat was not real.
- When does force or threat have to take place?Immediately before, or at the time "then and there" of the stealing.
- (Hale) - the act of stealing can be a continuing act - jury decide when appropriation is complete. D1 put hand over V's mouth while D2 went upstairs to teal - before they left, they tied V up - both counted as force, one immediately before, and the other during the act.
- (Lockley) - D caught shoplifting, used force on shopkeeper on way out - this was held as during the course of the robbery.
THIS IS DIFFERENT TO THEFT! - The connection between the force and theft:The force, or threat of force, must be used IN ORDER TO STEAL.The use of force for anything other than to steal, for example to rape, would not be robbery.