Robbery

Question 1

theft definition

Answer 1

D dishonestly appropriates V’s property

Question 2

robbery definition

Answer 2

D uses force to steal V’s property

Question 3

burglary definiton

Answer 3

D trespasses onto V’s property, committing one of a number of offences

Question 4

handling stolen goods defintion

Answer 4

D deals in specified ways with V’s property, which has been stolen

Question 5

blackmail definition

Answer 5

D threatens V to get their property

Question 6

criminal damage definition

Answer 6

D damages V’s property

Question 7

S8 (1) Theft Act 1968

Answer 7

“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..”

Question 8

key issues within robbery

Answer 8

 Theft – components of theft still exist
 Force– what meaning do we use?
 Timing of force – immediately before, or at the time of?
 Fear of force – how reasonable does the force need to be?

Question 9

the need for theft

Answer 9

• Supposedly self-explanatory, but if the D does not commit Theft then there can be no Robbery
• If there is unlawful force but no Theft, an OAP may occur or an Assault with intent to Rob, but there can be no Robbery

Question 10

force and threat of force

Answer 10

• for a Robbery to be established there must be a theft and force – the question remains as to how that force must manifest

Question 11

3 potential manifestations to discover

Answer 11

: infliction of,
causing apprehension of
and seeking the apprehension of…

Question 12

force

Answer 12

• The most straightforward (easy to work out!) cases will involve the D using force against V while committing a theft
• This force must be bodily, and not just against the property

Question 13

how much force

Answer 13

• The force itself has not be defined in statute, but common law lends itself to the definition that the force should be more than negligible, but need not be serious
   Minor bodily contact will not satisfy this element – but pushing and shoving will
   Obviously, serious harm is included – the common law seeks to define the lower and more complicated end of the spectrum

Question 14

P v DPP [2012]

Answer 14

• D snatched a lit cigarette from V’s hand, but no contact was physically made with V – D charged with Robbery
• On appeal; substituted for theft – the snatching was not sufficient ’force’
• There may be applicability for indirect force, such as if D wrenches a shopping basket or handbag from V which then causes force to be inflicted

Question 15

fear of force

Answer 15

• S8 (1) TA describes the act putting the V in ‘fear’ of being subjected to force
• Fear is problematic - it relies almost on the bravery of the the V for the liability of D, which is considerably inappropriate

Question 16

apprehension of force

Answer 16

The courts have now interpreted ‘fear’ as the apprehension that force will be used – similarly to assault, fear may not necessarily be relevant

Question 17

what have the courts interested fear as

Answer 17

the apprehension that force will be used

Question 18

timing of force

Answer 18

V must be caused to apprehend the fear there and then at the time of the theft, for there to be a robbery

Question 19

khan [2001]

Answer 19

The V handed money to D fearing that if this was not done, D would end up in trouble with a third party (X) who could then hurt V
The apprehension here was for future harm, not present force and while an offence existed (blackmail) it was not Robbery

Question 20

seeking fear of force

Answer 20

The element of force can be satisfied if the D ‘seeks’ to put V in fear (apprehension) of force
D can be liable if they act with the intent to cause V to apprehend (ulterior mens rea)
Robbery would still apply even if the D uses a fake gun, which the V realizes is fake

Question 21

linking force and threat

Answer 21

In order to have a complete offence of Robbery, there is the need to link two separate offences for completion
This link does not need to exist between victim or target; you can have robbery where the force is used against a security guard and theft against shopkeeper
The link needs to be either in Time or Intent

Question 22

temporal link

Answer 22

S8 clarifies that force must be immediately before or at the time of the theft
There must not be a large time gap between the two but there are allowances made for common sense time differences

Question 23

Hale [1978]

Answer 23

• D1 and D2 broke into V house, D1 stole jewelry while D2 tied the V up
• Held: even though the appropriation may have happened fractionally before the force used – the act of theft can be considered a continuing act