Robbery Flashcards
Legislation and case law
Robbery liability
Robbery Section 234(1), Crimes Act 1961
Theft
Accompanied by violence OR accompanied by threats of violence
To any person or property
Used to extort the property stolen, OR to prevent or overcome resistance to it being stolen
Aggravated Robbery liability (GBH)
Aggravated Robbery Section 235(a) Crimes Act 1961
Robs any person
At the time of, OR immediately before, OR immediately after, the robbery
Causes grievous bodily harm
To any person
Aggravated Robbery liability (two or more people)
Aggravated Robbery Section 235(b) Crimes Act 1961
- being together with any other person or persons.
- robs.
- any person.
Aggravated Robbery liability (weapon)
Aggravated Robbery Section 235(c) crimes act 1961
- being armed with any offensive weapon or instrument, OR anything appearing to be such a weapon or instrument.
- robs.
- any person.
Assault with intent to rob liability (GBH)
Assault with intent to rob Section 236(1)(a) Crimes Act 1961
With Intent to rob any person.
Causes grievous bodily harm to that person or any other person.
Assault with intent to rob liability (weapon)
Assault with intent to rob Section 236(1)(b), Crimes Act 1961
- with intent to rob any person
- being armed with any offensive weapon or instrument, OR anything appearing to be such a weapon or instrument.
- assaults that person or any other person.
Assault with intent to rob liability (people)
Assault with intent to rob. Section 236(1)(c) Crimes Act 1961
- with intent to rob any person.
- being together with any other person or persons.
- assaults that person or any other person.
Assault with intent to rob liability (minor)
Assault with intent to rob Section 236(2), Crimes Act 1961
- assaults any person
- with intent to rob that person or any other person.
Theft requires proof of
The taking of property, or using of property, or dealing with property, and
An intention to either permanently deprive an owner of the property intending to deal with the property in such a manner that it cannot be returned to an owner in the same condition.
Theft
Must be dishonestly and without claim of right.
R v Skivington (claim of right)
Theft is an element of robbery, and if the honest belief that a man has a claim of right is a defence to theft, then it negates one of the elements in the offence of robbery, without proof of which the full offence is not made.
(Claim of right)
R v Lapier
Robbery is complete the instant the property is taken, even if possession by the thief is only momentary.
(Taking)
R v Peat
As in the case of theft, the immediate return of goods by the robber does not purge the offence.
(Taking)
Using or dealing with
This requires the defendant acted contrary to the authority or consent given.
R v Cox
Possession involves two elements. The first, the physical element, is actual physical custody or control. The second, the mental element, is knowledge and intention.
(Possession)
Physical element
Actual possession - arises where the thing in question is in a person’s physical custody or control.
Potential possession - arises when the person has the potential to have the thing in question in their control.
Any property
Actual tangible property. Includes real and personal property.
Intent
An intent to commit the act and secondly the intention to get a specific result.
Deliberate act
Intent means that act or omission must be done deliberately. Cannot be involuntary or accidental.
R v Collister
Intent inferred through the circumstances.
Circumstances
Ownership
Has possession or control of the property.
Any interest in the property
The right to take possession or control of the property
R v Maihi
It is implicit in ‘accompany’ that there must be a nexus (connection or link) between the act of stealing and the threat of violence. Both must be present. However the term “does not require that the act of stealing and the threat of violence be contemporaneous”.
(Accompanied by threats of violence)
R v Mitchell
Property handed over to the thief as a result of threats previously made still in the mind of the victim
(Accompanied by threats of violence)
Peneha v Police
The actions of the defendant forcibly interfere with the personal freedom or amount to forcible powerful or violent action or motion producing a very marked or powerful effect tending to cause bodily injury or discomfort.
(Violence)
R v Broughton
A threat of violence is the manifestation of an intention to inflict violence unless the money or property be handed over. The threat may be direct or veiled. May be conveyed by words or conduct.
(Threats of violence)
Extort
To obtain by coercion or intimidation.
R v Wells
No requirement the harm be inflicted on the victim of the robbery.
(To any person)
R v Joyce
The crown must establish that at least two persons were physically present at the time the robbery was committed or assault occurred.
(Physical proximity)
R v Galey
Being together in the context of 235(b) involves two or more persons having the common intention to use their combined force, directly during the crime
(Together with)
Three broad classes of offensive weapons
- items made solely for the purpose of attacking or inflicting injury, such as firearms, swords or knuckledusters
- items with an innocent purpose that have been altered or adapted for use (broken bottle etc)
- items intended to cause injury (baseball bat, knife etc)
Instrument
Instrument is not defined by statute.
R v Bentham
The weapon possessed must under definition be a thing. A person’s hands or fingers are not a thing.
(Anything appearing to be such)
R v Mako
Sentencing factors:
- degree of planning
- number of participants
- whether disguises were used
- number and type of weapons.
- type of premises targeted.
- property stolen.
- impact on victim.
- any associated crimes.
(Sentencing)
Dishonestly definition
Dishonestly, in relation to an act or omission, means done or omitted without a belief that there was express or implied consent to, or authority from the act or omission from a person entitled to give such consent or authority.
Claim of right definition
A claim of right, in relation to any act, means a belief at the time of the act to a proprietary or possessory right in property in relation to which the offence is alleged to have been committed, although that belief may be based on ignorance or mistake of fact or of any matter of law other than the enactment against which the offense os alleged to have been committed.
Control definition
To “control” something means to exercise authoritative or dominating influence over it.
Deprive owner permanently
The thief must desire, or foresee as virtually certain, that the owner will never regain the property. Intent to destroy the property or give it to someone else who will retain it will suffice.
Ownership
A person is regarded to be the owner of any property that is stolen if that person has:
- Possession or control of the property; or
- Any interest in the property; or
- The right to take possession or control of the property.
R v Broughton - examples of required consideration of all circumstances
- The relative ages of the parties.
- Their respective physiques.
- Their appearance.
- Their demeanor.
- What was said and done by those involved.
- The manner and setting in which the incident took place.
DPP v Smith
“Bodily harm” needs no explanation and “grievous” means no more and no less than ‘really serious’.
Aggravated robbery is robbery carried out by
- Using grievous bodily harm.
- Two or more people.
- Using an offensive weapon.
Demanding with intent to steal is complete when
When a threat is made with the necessary intent.
The initial procedure for investigating robbery varies with the stage at which the offence is reported. When may you be informed of it.
- Before an intended robbery.
- During or after the incident, when a raid alarm at the premises goes off.
- After the offenders have left the scene of the crime.
Priority should be given to the following areas in the following order
- Secure the safety of all members of the public.
- Prevent the crime.
- Contain the area of the offence.
- Gather evidence from the crime scene and preserve it.
- Establish and then eliminate suspects.
- Identify the offender.
- Locate the offender.
- Search the offender and their premises, confiscating and preserving any evidence.
- Establish what, if any, case exists for prosecution.
- Prepare files for prosecution.
What factors elevate the offence of Robbery (section 234) to Aggravated (section 235).
(a) at the time of immediately before or after ‘caused GBH to any person’.
(b) being together with any other person robs any person.
(c) being armed with any offensive weapon or instrument or anything appearing to be a weapon robs any other person.
John waits down the road as a lookout. Bill runs in and uses violence to steal cigarettes. Although they have acted jointly in the offending why is it not an aggravated robbery by being together with?
Being together with - There must be proof that, in committing the robbery, the defendant was part of a joint enterprise by two or more persons who were physically present at the time of the robbery. In this case they were not physically together at the time of the robbery. They are both guilty of Robbery.
Can a finger up a jersey pretending to be a gun be defined as an instrument or an item appearing to be an offensive weapon?
A “thing” does not include a part of a person’s body.
In R v Bentham the defendant broke into a house where the victim was asleep in bed and put his hand under his jacket, pushing the material out to give the impression he had a gun. He threatened to shoot the victim, who handed over money as a consequence of the threat. The House of Lords held that the term “any thing” did not include the defendant’s unsevered hand.
