Violence - Robbery

Question 1

What are the ingredients of Robbery s234(1) CA 1961?

What is the Penalty?

Answer 1

Answer:
1. Theft
2. Accompanied by violence OR Threats of violence
3. To any person or property
4. Used to extort the property stolen OR
Prevent or overcome resistance to it being stolen

Answer:
Max 10 years imprisonment

Question 2

What is theft as defined by s219 of the Crimes Act 1961?

Answer 2

Answer:
Theft or stealing is the act of,—
(a) dishonestly and without claim of right, taking any
property with intent to deprive any owner
permanently of that property or of any interest in
that property; or

(b) dishonestly and without claim of right, using or
dealing with any property with intent to deprive any
owner permanently of that property or of any
interest in that property after obtaining possession
of, or control over, the property in whatever manner

Question 3

What is dishonesty as defined by s217 Crimes Act 1961?

Answer 3

Answer:
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 for, the act or omission from a person entitled to give such consent or authority

Question 4

What is belief in relation to dishonesty?

Answer 4

Answer:
The belief may be either;
- that the act or omission was expressly or implied, consented to by a person entitled to give that consent
- that the act or omission was authorised by a person entitled to authorise it.

Question 5

How is claim of right defined in s2 Crimes Act 1961?

Answer 5

Answer:
In relation to any act mean a belief at the time of the act in 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 any matter of law other than the enactment against which the offence is alleged to have been committed

Question 6

What are the four beliefs relating to possession of property?

Answer 6

Answer:
1st - Must be a belief in a proprietary or possesory
right in property, must be a belief that relates to an
element of ownership of the property in question.

2nd - the belief must be about rights to the property in relation to which offence is alleged to have been committed.

3rd - The belief must be held at the time of the conduct alleged to constitute the offence.

4th - The belief must be actually held by the defendant. The belief is not required to be reasonable or to be reasonably held and may be based on ignorance or mistake.

Question 7

Explain claim of right as a defence to Robbery?

Answer 7

Answer:
If the court is satisfied that the defendant acted with claim of right, he is entitled to acquittal on a charge of theft. Therefore as theft is an essential element of robbery, claim of right is also a defence to robbery.

Question 8

What was held in R v Skivington?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

If claim of right is justified or proved and a defence to robbery can the offender be criminally liable for other offences?

Answer 9

Answer:
Yes. It is possible that the offender may still be criminally liable for the violence or threats used in obtaining the property.

Question 10

What is the definition of taking?

Answer 10

Answer:

Property is taken and therefore theft is complete the moment the item is moved with intent to steal it.

Question 11

What was held in R v Lapier

Answer 11

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

Question 12

What is meant by using or dealing with?

Answer 12

Answer:
For offences under s219 (1)(b) CA 1961 it must be proved that the defendant
- obtained “in whatever manner” possession of or control over property in which some other person has an ownership or interest and that there must be “using and dealing with” the necessary intent
- The defendant acted contrary to any authority or consent given by the owner or that their conduct was inconsistent with the rights of the owner

Question 13

What is the meaning of property?

Answer 13

Answer:
s2 Crimes Act 1961
Property includes real and personal property and any estate or interest in real or personal property. Includes money, electricity, any debt, anything in action, any other right or interest

Question 14

Explain the term possession?

Answer 14

Answer:
Two elements of possession. A mental element and a physical element.

Actual and potential possession
Actual arises where the thing in question is in a person’s physical custody or control.

Potential arises where the person has a potential to have the thing in question in their control

Question 15

What was held in R v Cox in relation to possession?

Answer 15

Answer:
R v Cox
Possesion involves two elements. The first the physical element, is actual or potential physical custody or control
The second, the mental element is a combination of knowledge and intention: knowledge in a sense of an awareness by the accused that the substance was in his possession and an intention to exercise possession.

Question 16

What must the prosecution prove in regards to “accompanied by?”

Answer 16

Answer:
The prosecution must prove:
- a connection between the violence or threats of
violence and the stealing of the property

• the defendant had an intent to steal at the time the
  violence or threats were used.
• the violence or threats were used for the purposes of extorting the property or preventing or overcoming resistance to it being stolen.

Question 17

What was held in the case law R v Maihi?

Answer 17

Answer: R v Maihi
“it is implicit to 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 18

What is the definition of the term violence in the context of robbery?

Answer 18

Answer:
In the context of robbery violence must involve more than a minimal degree of force and more than a technical assault, but need not involve the infliction of bodily injury.

Question 19

What was held in the case law Peneha v Police relating to violence?

Answer 19

Answer: Peneha v Police
“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 20

Define the term “threats of violence?”

Answer 20

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

Threats may also be conveyed by inference through the defendants conduct, demeanor or even appearance, depending on the circumstances.

Question 21

What does the case law R v Broughton refer to?

Answer 21

Answer: R v Broughton
It refers to the threat of violence.
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 22

Define To any Person or property?

Answer 22

Answer:
Person is Gender neutral. Proven by judicial notice or circumstantially.

Violence or threats can be directed at anyone not just the victim and any property or interest.

Violence towards property. Eg offender threatens to smash a person’s car if they don’t hand over the money

Property as defined by s2 CA 1961

Question 23

What does the term extort mean?

Answer 23

Answer:

To extort means to obtain by coercion or intimidation

Question 24

What does the term Prevent mean?

Answer 24

Answer:

Prevent means to “keep from happening”

Question 25

What does overcome resistance mean?

Answer 25

Answer:
It means to defeat, to prevail over, to get the better of in a conflict.
Eg. offender grabs victim’s bag. The victim holds on to avoid it being stolen. The offender hits the victims arm causing the victim to release the bag

Question 26

What is meant by deprive the owner permanently?

Answer 26

Answer:
The thief must desire or foresee as virtually certain that the owner will never regain the property, but it is not necessary that he intends to keep it himself.
an intent to destroy it or give it to someone else will suffice.

Question 27

What is the definition of ownership as per s218 CA 1961?

Answer 27

Answer:
The person is to be regarded the owner of any property that is stolen, if at the time of the theft that person had;
- possession or control of the property
- any interest in the property
- the right to take possession or control of the property

Question 28

In R v Broughton list what other considerations of the circumstances (things that make the threat real) must be made relating to the conduct amounting to a threat of violence?

Answer 28

Answer:
Circumstances can include
- 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.

S A D C A P S =
Setting, ages, demeanor conduct, appearance, physiques,

Question 29

What is the definition of takes - s219(4) CA 1961?

Answer 29

Answer:
For tangible property, theft is committed by a taking when the offender moves
the property or causes it to be moved.