Law - robbery

• Definition of robbery 


  A person is guilty of robbery if he steals an 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
• Actus Reus elements of robbery

  Theft

  Force or putting or seeking to put any person in fear or force

  In addition, there are two conditions on the force:

  It must be immediately before or at the time of the theft and it must be in order to steal
• MR elements of robbery


  That the defendant:

  • Had the mens Rea for theft and
  • Intended to use force to steal
• completed theft

  Robinson - A defendant will not have committed the offence of theft, and, therefore, cannot have committed the offence of robbery even though he used force to acquire the property and knew he was not permitted to use such force to acquire the property, if he believed that he had a right to appropriate the property.
• completed theft 


  Corcoran v Anderton - A temporary appropriation will amount to theft:
• force or threat of force

  Dawson and James - Force was to be considered an ordinary word and it requires no extra direction to be made at trial to the jury.
• force or threat of force 


  clouden - their actions amounted to force on the victim.
• force or threat of force

  B and R v DPP - "(1) Where on a charge of robbery a victim gives evidence that he did not feel threatened or put in fear and that the only touching was his pockets being searched, is a tribunal entitled to make a finding (a) that there is a case to answer and (b) of guilt.
• force immediately before or at time of the threat

  Hale - force came after they had appropriate the jewellery and thus did not come within the requirement of being immediately before or at the time of stealing. 
• force immediately before or at time of the theft

  Lockley -  A conviction for robbery under section 8(1) Theft Act 1968 requires proof of a completed theft under section 1(1) Theft Act 1968 together with the use of force against a person immediately before or at the time of the theft.
• force used in order to steal
• MR for theft + intention to use force to steal