Robbery
Introduction
⇒ Section 8 of the Theft Act 1968 defines robbery. In essence robery is made up of two elements:
- (1) It must be shown that the defendant has committed theft (see notes on theft here). The mens rea and actus reus of theft must be proved.
- (2) It must be shown that the defendant has used or threatened force at the time of the theft.
The second requirement: threat or use of force
⇒ There are three elements in this second requirement:
⇒ (1) There must be the use of force or treat of force → force is to be given its ordinary meaning by the jury. However, the level of force need be of only a minimal kind. See, for example, R v Dawson [1976].
⇒ (2) The force must be used in order to steal and not for any other purpose → this means that the defendant must be aware that he or she is using force and intends to use that force in order to steal.
⇒ (3) The force must be used at the time of the theft or immediately before it → it is not robbery if the force is used simply in order to make a getaway from a scene of a theft. See, for example, R v Hale (1976).
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