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Robbery & Burglary (UK) - Coggle Diagram
Robbery & Burglary (UK)
Robbery
Per S.8 Theft Act 1968:
- "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"
- Its basically aggravated theft: usually involves theft accompanied with force / threat of force
AR:
- The AR for robbery is the AR for theft:
- Property - S. 4(1)
- The thing in question like money, etc
- Appropriation - S.3(1)
- doing something that only the owner is allowed to do
- Belonging to another - S.5
- property appropriated must belong to another when the appropriation took place
With one of these 3 things:
- He uses force in order to seal; or
- He puts a person in fear of force in order to steal; or
- He seeks to put a person in fear of force in order to steal
- Force used against property can involve indirectly applying force to the victim
R v Clouden [1987]:
- Facts: D wrenched a shopping bag from C's hand.
- Held: D's conduct was sufficient to amount to force for purposes of offence of robbery
- The force / threat of force must be used in order to steal, so there's no robbery if the force is only used when trying to escape after the theft, or if the force is accidental
Force:
- Refers to any exercise of physical strength against someone
- Force must be used on a person
P v DPP [2012]:
- Facts: C was walking along a street smoking a cigarette when she was approached by some dudes who asked if they could have cigarettes from her. She said she didn't have enough to spare. D then grabbed the cigarette from her hand (without actually touching her hand)
- Held: D was convicted of robbery but successfully appealed against his conviction as there was no evidence of force.
cont.
- Since the action was snatching (there's no physical contact), it not enough to constitute robbery.
- Only minimal force and not direct physical contact was used to remove the cigarette from C's hand
- A conviction of theft was used instead: D conduct was more towards a pickpocket committing theft not robbery, no direct physical contact between D to C
- If force is used some time before any act of appropriation has commenced, then there cannot be robbery
R v Vinall [2011]:
- Facts: D knocked C off his bicycle, chased him and then walked off with his bicycle. They later abandoned the bike near a bus stop. They were prosecuted and convicted of robbery but their appeal was allowed.
- Held: Trial judge directed the jury and suggested the abandonment of the bicycle at the bus stop could potentially be treated at the point where the appropriation took place for purposes or robbery. Since force was used sometime before, not immediately before / at the time of the appropriation. Appeal allowed
MR:
- D must have MR for theft:
- Intention to permanently reprieve - S.6(1)
- Must have intention to permanently deprive someone of the other of the property
- The force of threat must be used in order to steal. Accidental use won't count
- Dishonesty - S.2(1), either
- appropriates with the belief that he has the right to do it
- appropriates with the belief that he has the consent to do it
- appropriates with the belief that person to whom the property belongs to cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps
R v Robinson [1977]:
- Facts: D threatened C with a knife in order to obtain payment of money he was owed. D convicted of robbery but conviction quashed by CA because D lacked dishonesty per the Theft Act
- He fell within S.2(1)(a) because he honestly believed that he had a legal right to the money
Completion of Offence:
- A person is liable for a full offence of robbery when the appropriation is complete
Corcoran v Anderton [1980]:
- Facts: 2 D's tried to take C's handbag by force. They managed to grab hold of the bag, but then dropped it and ran off.
- Held: Appropriation is complete when Ds got hold of the handbag, and thus liable for robbery not just attempted robbery, regardless of whether they failed to run off with the bag or not
Sentence:
- Maximum sentence for robbery is life imprisonment
Burglary
Per S.9 Theft 1968:
- A person is guilty of burglary if -
- (a) he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and with intent to commit any such offence as in mentioned in subsection (2) below; or
- (b) having entered any building or part of a building as a trespasser he steals or attempts to steal anything in the building or that part of it or inflicts or attempts to inflict on any person therein any grievous bodily harm
- The offences referred to in subsection (1)(a) above are offences of stealing anything in the building or part of a building in question, of inflicting on any person therein any grievous bodily harm, and of doing unlawful damage to the building or anything therein
Under S.9(1)(a):
- Offences under this section are committed when entering any building/part of a building as a trespasser, and with intent of theft, GBH or criminal damage
AR:
- Trespass
- Entry
- Building or part of the building
Trespass:
- Being in someone's property without authority
- A person will become a trespasser by entering the property with permission but for some other purpose
R v Jones and Smith [1976]:
- Facts: D left home, had father's permission to visit whenever he liked. One night son came home and stole a television.
- Held: CA upheld his conviction for burglary because while he had permission to enter the house, stealing the television went beyond the permission granted, = trespasser
Entry:
- D must have entered the property
Building or part of a building:
- D must enter the building or part of a building.
- Although a building is not defined, includes inhabited vehicles, or vessels
MR:
- Intention/recklessness as to the trespass
- Intention to commit the ulterior offence
Intention/recklessness as to the trespass:
- Must have the intention or even the recklessness to constitute an MR for this
Intention to commit ulterior offence:
- D must intend to commit one of the offences listed in S.9(2), aka ulterior offences: theft, GBH, unlawful damage to the building etc
- Intention must exist at the time of entry
Under S.9(1)(b):
- When D enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and then steals, attempts to steal, inflicts or attempts to inflect GBH
AR:
- Prove all elements of AR from S.9(1)(a)
- Prove that the AR of the ulterior offence (like stealing, attempting to steal, inflicting GBH, attempting GBH) has been carried out
- Offence is committed NOT at the time of entry, but at the time of committing the ulterior offence
MR:
- Must prove intention or recklessness as to the trespass
- Prove the MR of the ulterior offence: D may not have the MR of the ulterior offence at time of entry, but must have it when the ulterior offence is committed
Aggravated Burglary
Per S.10(1) Theft Act 1968:
- A person is guilty of aggravated burglary if he commits any burglary and at the time has with him any firearm / imitation firearm, any weapon of offence, or any explosive, and for this purpose -
- (a) 'firearm' includes airgun/pistol and 'imitation firearm' means anything that looks like a firearm, whether capable of being discharged or not; and
- (b) 'weapon of offence' means any article made/adapted for use of causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use; and
- (c) 'explosive' means any article manufactured for the purpose of producing a practical effect by explosion, or intended by the person having it with him for that purpose
AR:
- D must be in possession of the weapon at the time of the burglary
- The moment at which the burglary occurs depends on whether its like S.9(1)(a) or S.9(1)(b)
- As D is in possession of the weapon when the offence was committed, doesn't matter that they only armed themselves seconds before
MR:
- D must have MR of burglary and also know that he/she has the weapon