Robbery

Question 1

Act and section

Answer 1

Sec 234 (1), Crimes Act 1961

Question 2

Penalty

Answer 2

10 Years Imprisonment

Question 3

Ingredients

Answer 3

1) Theft
2) Accompanied with violence or threats of violence
3) To any person or property
4)Used to extort the stolen property
or
Used to prevent or overcome resistance to it being stolen

Question 4

Theft - Sec 219 (1) Crimes Act 1961

Answer 4

Dishonestly without claim of right takes any property with intent to deprive, any owner permanently, of that property or of any interest in that property.

Question 5

Case law:

R v Skivington

Answer 5

Larceny (or theft) is an ingredient of Robbery,and if the honest belief that a man has a claim of right is a defence to larceny, then it negates one of the ingredients in the offence of robbery, without proof of which, the full offence is not made out.

Question 6

Case law:

R v Lapier

Answer 6

Robbery is complete the instant the property is taken, even if possession by the thief is only momentary.

Question 7

Possession

Answer 7

Possession may be actual or potential

Question 8

Actual possession

Answer 8

Actual possession arises when the thing in question is in a person’s physical custody or control

Question 9

Case law:

R v Cox

Answer 9

Possession involves two elements. The first, often called the physical element, is actual or potential physical custody or control.

The second often described as the mental element. Is a combination of knowledge and intention: knowledge in the sense of an awareness by the accused that the substance is in his possession and an intention to exercise possession.

Question 10

Potential possession

Answer 10

Potential possession arises when the person has the potential to have the thing in question in their control. For example storing the thing in question at an associate’s house or through an agent.

Question 11

Accompanied by violence

Answer 11

The prosecution must prove:

• a connection between the violence or threats of violence and the stealing of the property.
• It must be shown that the defendant had an intent to steal at the time the violence or threats were used
• The violence or threats were used for the purpose of extorting the property, or preventing or overcoming resistance to it being stolen

Question 12

Case law:

R v Maihi

Answer 12

It is implicit in ‘accompany’ that there must be a nexus (connection or link) between the act of stealing and a 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.

Question 13

Violence

Answer 13

In the context of Robbery, violence must be more than a minimal degree of force and more than a technical assault but does not require physical bodily harm.

Question 14

Police V Peneha

Answer 14

It is sufficient that the actions of the defendant forcibly interfere with 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.

Question 15

OR

Threats of violence

Answer 15

A threat of violence is generally a direct or veiled warning that violence will be used if the victim does not submit to the demands of the robber.

However, threats may also be conveyed by inference through the defendant’s conduct, demeanor or even appearance, depending on the circumstances.

Question 16

Case law:

R v Broughton

Answer 16

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. It may be conveyed by words or conduct or a combination of both.

Question 17

To any person

Answer 17

Gender neutral, proven by judicial notice or circumstantial evidence.

Violence or threats can be directed at any person, not just the victim.

Question 18

Property - Sec 2 Crimes Act 1961

Answer 18

Property includes real and personal property, and any estate or interest in any real or personal property, money, electricity, and anything in action and any other right or interest.

Question 19

To extort the stolen property

Answer 19

Extort means to obtain by coercion or intimidation.

Extortion implies an overbearing of the will of the victim, and the prosecution must show that the threats induced the victim to part with his property.

Question 20

Or Used to Prevent or Overcome Resistance to it Being Stolen

Answer 20

To prevent or overcomes means to keep from happening

Or Overcome;
To defeat, to prevail over, to get the better of in a conflict.

Question 21

Claim of right

Answer 21

A belief in a proprietary or possessory right in the property in relation to which the offence is alleged to have been committed

Question 22

The term “taking” section 219

Answer 22

For tangible property theft is committed by taking when the offender moves the property or causes it to be moved