A description of the concept of Robbery, used for AQA LAW03

1. Robbery By Kenisha Browning and Ellissia Davis

2. Introduction The traditional view of the bank robber with a mask over his face waving a shotgun around is everyone’s idea of robbery. But, can it be said to be robbery if two people, holding their Oyster cards, run into each other at a tube station and pick up each other’s card after they have been dropped in the collision; one card has little credit on it, the other has a substantial credit balance? What circumstances might change the accident to a robbery?

3. What is Robbery? The offence of robbery if defined in the Theft act 1968, s8(1) as: ‘ A person is 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’

4. Actus Reus for robbery

5. Explanation Actus Reus of theft – As robbery is an aggravated form of theft, all the elements of theft must be present in order for robbery to be established. (Dawson 1976) Force/ Fear of force (Clouden 1987) – four main points to remember:

6. KEY CASES

7. EXPLANATION 3) Any person – Force is often used on the owner of the property but the reference to ‘any person’ in s.8 means that this need not be the case. Robbery would be too narrow if it was restricted to force used against the owner of property as this would exclude, for example, bank robbery whereby the employees are threatened but clearly are not the owners of the money. 4) Immediately before or at the time – As robbery requires that force is used in order to steal, the use of force must precede or coincide with the theft. Force used after the theft is complete cannot have been instrumental in committing theft. Despite the logic of this position, it limited the scope of robbery by placing situations in which the defendant used violence to get away after theft outside the offence.

8. KEY CASE

9. MENS REA FOR ROBBERY

10. There are a number of elements of points to be considered apart from the elements of theft.

11. What amounts to force or threat of force on a person? The force/threat must be noticeable, but not necessarily to the victim. What would not be sufficient would be the threat of future violence, as that would not fulfil the definition of ‘ fear of being then and there subjected to force’. Does not matter whether the victim is actually put in fear or not: only intention matters: Even if the victim was not afraid doesn't mean that the defendant did not ATTEMPT to put him in fear. Does not have to be direct force on the victim. The word ‘force’ is all that is required. Threat does not have to be as the victim imagines if it is intended to cause fear.

12. When does the force or threat of force have to take place? Definition requires the force or threat of force to take place immediately before or at the time of stealing. Stealing and appropriation may be very brief Corcoran and Anderson (1980): knocking a handbag out of the victim’s grasp with force was sufficient for there to be a robbery even though the robber did not take the bag.

13. WHAT CONNECTION MUST THERE BE BETWEEN THE FORCE AND THE THEFT? The force of threat of force must be used in order to steal. If the force or threat of force is used for a different purpose (such as rape), then it is not robbery. Where the force is used to allow the theft to happen, for example to obtain the keys to a building or safe, then it can be robbery.