Robbery is the
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear; that is, it is a
larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...
or
theft
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...
accomplished by an
assault. Precise definitions of the offence may vary between jurisdictions. Robbery is differentiated from other forms of
theft
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...
(such as
burglary,
shoplifting
Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...
,
pickpocketing, or
car theft
Motor vehicle theft (also known as a car theft and, in the United States, grand theft auto) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. Nationwide in the United States in 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reported ...
) by its inherently violent nature (a
violent crime
A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objecti ...
); whereas many lesser forms of theft are punished as
misdemeanors, robbery is always a
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
in jurisdictions that distinguish between the two. Under English law, most forms of theft are
triable either way
A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, offence triable either way, or wobbler is one of the special class offences in the common law jurisdictions where the case may be prosecuted either summarily or as i ...
, whereas robbery is
triable only on indictment
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...
. The word "rob" came via
French from
Late Latin
Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
words (e.g., ''deraubare'') of
Germanic origin, from
Common Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic br ...
''raub'' "theft".
Among the types of robbery are armed robbery, which involves the use of a
weapon
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, ...
, and aggravated robbery, when someone brings with them a deadly weapon or something that appears to be a deadly weapon. Highway robbery or mugging takes place outside or in a
public place
A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...
such as a sidewalk, street, or parking lot.
Carjacking
Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...
is the act of stealing a car from a victim by force.
Extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
is the threat to do something illegal, or the offer to not do something illegal, in the event that goods are not given, primarily using words instead of actions.
Criminal slang for robbery includes "blagging" (armed robbery, usually of a bank) or "stick-up" (derived from the verbal command to robbery targets to raise their hands in the air), and "
steaming" (organized robbery on underground train systems).
Canada
In Canada, the
Criminal Code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
makes robbery an
indictable offence, subject to a maximum penalty of
life imprisonment. If the accused uses a restricted or prohibited firearm to commit robbery, there is a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for the first offence, and seven years for subsequent offences.
Republic of Ireland
Robbery is a statutory offence in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. It is created by section 14(1) of the
Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001
The Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001 (No. 50 of 2001) updates and consolidates the law relating to dishonesty and fraud in the Republic of Ireland.
The main sections of the statute include:
*Theft and Related Offences
*Makin ...
, which provides:
United Kingdom
England and Wales
Robbery is a statutory offence created by section 8(1) of the
Theft Act 1968
The Theft Act 1968c 60 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales.
On 15 January 2007 the Fraud Act 2006 came into force, redefining most of the offences of decepti ...
which reads:
Aggravated theft
Robbery is the only offence of aggravated theft.
[Griew, Edward. The Theft Acts 1968 and 1978. Sweet and Maxwell. Fifth Edition. 1986. Paragraph 3-01 at page 79.]
Aggravated robbery
There are no offences of aggravated robbery.
"Steals"
This requires evidence to show a
theft
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...
as set out in section 1(1) of the Theft Act 1968. In ''R v Robinson'' the defendant threatened the victim with a knife in order to recover money which he was actually owed. His conviction for robbery was quashed on the basis that Robinson had an honest, although unreasonable, belief (under Section 2(1)(a) of the Act) in his legal right to the money. See also ''R v Skivington''
968
Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (th ...
1 QB 166,
9672 WLR 655, 131 JP 265, 111 SJ 72,
9671 All ER 483, 51
Cr App R 167, CA.
In ''R v Hale'' (1978) the application of force and the stealing took place in many different locations, and it was not possible to establish the timing; it was held that the appropriation necessary to prove theft was a continuing act, and the jury could correctly convict of robbery. This approach was followed in ''R v Lockley'' (1995) when the force was applied to a shopkeeper after property had been taken. It was argued that the theft should be regarded as complete by this time, and ''R v Gomez'' (1993), should apply; the court disagreed, preferring to follow ''R v Hale''.
Actual or threatened force against a person
The threat or use of force must take place immediately before or at the time of the
theft
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...
. Force used after the theft is complete will not turn the theft into a robbery.
The words "or immediately after" that appeared in section 23(1)(b) of the
Larceny Act 1916
The Larceny Act 1916 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its purpose was to consolidate and simplify the law relating to larceny triable on indictment and to kindred offences.
The definition of larceny for the purposes of the Ac ...
were deliberately omitted from section 8(1).
The book ''
Archbold'' said that the facts in ''R v Harman'', which did not amount to robbery in 1620, would not amount to robbery now.
It was held in ''R v Dawson and James'' (1978) that "force" is an ordinary English word and its meaning should be left to the jury. This approach was confirmed in ''R v Clouden'' (1985) and ''Corcoran v Anderton'' (1980), both handbag-snatching cases. Stealing may involve a young child who is not aware that taking other persons' property is not in order.
Threat
The victim must be placed in apprehension or fear that force would be used immediately before or at the time of the taking of the property. A threat is not immediate if the wrongdoer threatens to use force of violence some future time.
Robbery occurs if an aggressor forcibly snatched a
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...
or if they used a knife to make an implied threat of violence to the holder and then took the phone. The person being threatened does not need to be the owner of the property. It is not necessary that the victim was actually frightened, but the defendant must have put or sought to put the victim or some other person in fear of immediate force.
The force or threat may be directed against a third party, for example a customer in a jeweller's shop. Theft accompanied by a threat to damage property will not constitute robbery, but it may disclose an offence of
blackmail.
Dishonestly dealing with property stolen during a robbery will constitute an offence of
handling.
Mode of trial
Robbery is an
indictable-only offence
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...
.
[This is the effect of section 8(2) of the ]Theft Act 1968
The Theft Act 1968c 60 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales.
On 15 January 2007 the Fraud Act 2006 came into force, redefining most of the offences of decepti ...
and paragraph 28(a) of Schedule 1 to the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980
The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a consolidation Act.The Public General Acts and General Synod Measures 1980. HMSO. London. . Part IV. Pages ''i'', ''j'' and i. It codifies the pr ...
.
Sentence
![Courtois](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Courtois.jpg)
Under current sentencing guidelines, the punishment for robbery is affected by a variety of aggravating and mitigating factors. Particularly important is how much harm was caused to the victim and how much
culpability
In criminal law, culpability, or being culpable, is a measure of the degree to which an agent, such as a person, can be held morally or legally responsible for action and inaction. It has been noted that the word, culpability, "ordinarily ha ...
the offender had (e.g. carrying a weapon or leading a group effort implies high culpability). Robbery is divided into three categories which are, in increasing order of seriousness: street or less sophisticated commercial; dwelling; and professionally planned commercial.
Robbery generally results in a custodial sentence. Only a low-harm, low-culpability robbery with other mitigating factors would result in an alternative punishment, in the form of a high level
community order
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...
.
The maximum legal punishment is
imprisonment for life
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...
. It is also subject to the mandatory sentencing regime under the
Criminal Justice Act 2003
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide-ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland a ...
. Current sentencing guidelines advise that the sentence should be no longer than 20 years, for a high-harm, high-culpability robbery with other aggravating factors.
The "starting point" sentences are:
*Low-harm, low-culpability street robbery: 1 year
*Medium-harm, medium-culpability street robbery: 4 years
*Medium-harm, medium-culpability professionally planned robbery: 5 years
*High-harm, high-culpability street robbery: 8 years
*High-harm, high-culpability professionally planned robbery: 16 years
An offender may also serve a longer sentence if they are convicted of other offences alongside the robbery, such as
assault and
grievous bodily harm.
History
= Common law
=
Robbery was an offence under the
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...
of England. Matthew Hale provided the following definition:
The
common law offence
Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some Commonwealth countries, and under some U.S. State laws. They are offences under the common law, developed entirely by the law courts, having no specific ...
of robbery was abolished for all purposes not relating to offences committed before 1 January 1969 by section 32(1)(a) of the
Theft Act 1968
The Theft Act 1968c 60 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales.
On 15 January 2007 the Fraud Act 2006 came into force, redefining most of the offences of decepti ...
.
= Statute
=
See sections 40 to 43 of the
Larceny Act 1861
The Larceny Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict c 96) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it then was). It consolidated provisions related to larceny and similar offences from a number of earlier statutes into ...
.
Section 23 of the
Larceny Act 1916
The Larceny Act 1916 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its purpose was to consolidate and simplify the law relating to larceny triable on indictment and to kindred offences.
The definition of larceny for the purposes of the Ac ...
read:
This section provided maximum penalties for a number of offences of robbery and aggravated robbery.
Assault with intent to rob
If a robbery is foiled before it can be completed, an alternative offence (with the same penalty, given by section 8(2) of the 1968 Act) is assault; any act which
intentionally or
recklessly causes another to fear the immediate and unlawful use of force, with an intent to rob, will suffice.
The following cases are relevant:
* ''R v Trusty and Howard'' (1783) 1 East PC 418
* ''R v Sharwin'' (1785) 1 East PC 421
=Mode of trial and sentence
=
Assault with intent to rob is an
indictable-only offence
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...
.
It is punishable with
imprisonment for life
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...
or for any shorter term.
Assault with intent to rob is also subject to the mandatory sentencing regime under the
Criminal Justice Act 2003
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide-ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland a ...
.
Northern Ireland
Robbery is a statutory offence in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. It is created b
section 8of the
Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969
The Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 (c 16) is an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It makes criminal law provisions for Northern Ireland similar to those made in England and Wales by the Theft Act 1968.
Section 1 - Theft
This section ...
.
United States
In the United States, robbery is generally treated as an aggravated form of common law larceny. Specific elements and definitions differ from state to state. The common elements of robbery are:
# a trespassory
# taking and
# carrying away
# of the personal property
# of another
# with the intent to steal
# from the person or presence of the victim
# by force or threat of force.
The first six elements are the same as common law larceny. It is the last two elements that aggravate the crime to common law robbery.
from the person or presence of the victim – robbery requires that the property be taken directly from the person of the victim or from their presence. This is different from larceny which simply requires that property be taken from the victim's possession, actual or constructive. Property is "on the victim's person" if the victim is actually holding the property, or the property is contained within clothing the victim is wearing or is attached to a victim's body such as a watch or earrings.
[Lafave, Criminal Law 3rd ed. (West 2000) Sec 8.11] Property is in a person's presence when it is within the area of their immediate control. The property has to be close enough to the victim's person that the victim could have prevented its taking if he/she had not been placed in fear or intimidation.
by force or threat of force – the use of force or threat of force is the defining element of robbery. For there to be robbery there must be "force or fear" in perpetrating the theft. Questions concerning the degree of force necessary for robbery have been the subject of much litigation. Merely snatching the property from the victim's person is not sufficient force unless the victim resists or one of the items is attached or carried in such a way that a significant amount of force must be used to free the item from the victim's person.
For robbery the victim must be placed in "fear" of immediate harm by threat or intimidation. The threat need not be directed at the victim personally. Threats to third parties are sufficient. The threat must be one of present rather than future personal harm. Fear does not mean "fright",
it means apprehension – an awareness of the danger of immediate bodily harm.
California
The maximum sentence for robbery in California is 9 years, according to Penal Code section 213(a)(1)(A).
The threat or use of force does not have to take place immediately before or at the time of the theft. Force used after the theft will turn the theft into a robbery unless the theft is complete. The theft is considered completed when the perpetrator reaches a place of temporary safety with the property.
Robbery statistics
Robberies by country
The
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...
notes "that when using the figures, any cross-national comparisons should be conducted with caution because of the differences that exist between the legal definitions of offences in countries, or the different methods of offence counting and recording". Also not every single crime is reported, meaning two things; (1) robbery rates are going to appear lower than they actually are and; (2) the percentage of crime that is not reported is going to be higher in some countries then others, for example – in one country 86% of the robberies were reported, whereas in another country only 67% of the robberies were reported. The last thing to note is that crime will vary by certain neighborhoods or areas in each country, so, just because a nationwide rate is a specified rate, does not mean that everywhere in that country retains the same amount of danger or safety. A 1983 study by the Department of Justice estimated that the amount of robberies in the US at schools alone may reach one million a year, exceeding the National Crime Survey reported estimate.
Homicides during a robbery, by country
In popular culture
Robberies have been depicted, sometimes graphically, in various forms of media, and several robbers have become
pop icon
A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...
s, such as
Bonnie and Clyde and
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times an ...
. Examples of media works focused on robberies include:
In film
* ''
The Killing'' (1956), by
Stanley Kubrick, depicts a graphic robbery.
* ''
Wake Up and Die
''Wake Up and Die'' (Italian language, Italian: ''Svegliati e uccidi''), also known as ''Wake Up and Kill'' and ''I Kill for Kicks'', is a List of Italian films of 1966, 1966 Cinema of Italy, Italian crime drama film directed by Carlo Lizzani, base ...
'' (1966) is an Italian crime drama film directed by
Carlo Lizzani
Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic.
Biography
Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's '' Germany Year Zero' ...
, based on the real life of
Luciano Lutring ("''il solista del mitra''", translation: "the submachine soloist"), who kept his weapon in a violin case.
* ''
Take the Money and Run
''Take the Money and Run'' is a 1969 American mockumentary comedy film directed by Woody Allen. Allen co-wrote the screenplay with Mickey Rose and stars alongside Janet Margolin. The film chronicles the life of Virgil Starkwell, an inept bank ro ...
'' (1969), by
Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
, depicts an unconventional view of a robbery by an incompetent robber.
* ''Le Gitan'' (1975), directed by
José Giovanni, is loosely based on Luciano Lutring's autobiography. Lutring is played by
Alain Delon.
* ''
Dog Day Afternoon
''Dog Day Afternoon'' is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick, and Charles Durning. The screenplay is wr ...
'' (1975) depicts a bank robbery which escalates to a hostage situation.
* ''
Reservoir Dogs
''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward B ...
'' (1992), by
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
, shows the aftermath of a robbery, with an abundance of lurid details.
In literature
*
Luciano Lutring (30 December 1937 – 13 May 2013), known as "the submachine gun soloist" because he kept the weapon in a violin case, used that moniker as the title of his memoir ''
Il solista del mitra''. He was an Italian criminal, author, and painter who, when committing robberies, worked alone (which is rather rare for a robber).
*
Lionel White
Lionel White (9 July 1905 – 26 December 1985) was an American journalist and crime novelist, several of whose dark, noirish stories were made into films. His books include ''The Snatchers'' (made into a film as ''The Night of the Follow ...
's Bloodhound mysteries novel, No.116, ''Clean Break'' (1955) was the basis for Stanley Kubrik's film ''The Killing'' (1956).
In video games
Video games ''
Payday: The Heist'' and ''
Payday 2
''Payday 2'' is a cooperative first-person shooter video game developed by Overkill Software and published by 505 Games. The game is a sequel to 2011's '' Payday: The Heist''. It was released in August 2013 for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox ...
'' are both games by
Overkill Software
Overkill Software is a Swedish video game developer based and founded in Stockholm in 2009 by Ulf Andersson, Bo Andersson, the founders and owners of defunct game developer Grin, along with Simon Viklund. In 2012, Swedish game studio Starbreez ...
where one of the main objectives is to steal items of monetary value at places such as banks, art galleries, armored trucks, and more.
See also
References
* Matthew Hale.
Historia Placitorum Coronae
Historia may refer to:
* Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal
* Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel
* Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics
* ...
. 1736. 1800 Edition. Volume 1. Chapter XLVI. Page
532to 538.
Further reading
* Allen, Michael. (2005). ''Textbook on Criminal Law''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
* Criminal Law Revision Committee. 8th Report. Theft and Related Offences. Cmnd. 2977
* Griew, Edward. ''Theft Acts 1968 & 1978''. London: Sweet & Maxwell. London: LexisNexis.
External links
{{Authority control
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