Violence - Robbery Flashcards
What are the ingredients of Robbery s234(1) CA 1961?
What is the Penalty?
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
What is theft as defined by s219 of the Crimes Act 1961?
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
What is dishonesty as defined by s217 Crimes Act 1961?
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
What is belief in relation to dishonesty?
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.
How is claim of right defined in s2 Crimes Act 1961?
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
What are the four beliefs relating to possession of property?
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.
Explain claim of right as a defence to Robbery?
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.
What was held in R v Skivington?
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.
If claim of right is justified or proved and a defence to robbery can the offender be criminally liable for other offences?
Answer:
Yes. It is possible that the offender may still be criminally liable for the violence or threats used in obtaining the property.
What is the definition of taking?
Answer:
Property is taken and therefore theft is complete the moment the item is moved with intent to steal it.
What was held in R v Lapier
Robbery is complete the instant the property is taken, even if possession by the thief is only momentary.
What is meant by using or dealing with?
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
What is the meaning of property?
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
Explain the term possession?
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
What was held in R v Cox in relation to possession?
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.
What must the prosecution prove in regards to “accompanied by?”
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.
What was held in the case law R v Maihi?
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”
What is the definition of the term violence in the context of robbery?
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.
What was held in the case law Peneha v Police relating to violence?
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”
Define the term “threats of violence?”
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.
What does the case law R v Broughton refer to?
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.
Define To any Person or property?
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
What does the term extort mean?
Answer:
To extort means to obtain by coercion or intimidation
What does the term Prevent mean?
Answer:
Prevent means to “keep from happening”
