Robbery

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with common law countries, particularly Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as Norway and Spain and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (August 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Criminal law
Elements
Actus reus Mens rea Causation Concurrence
Scope of criminal liability
Accessory Accomplice Complicity Corporate Principal Vicarious
Severity of offense
Felony (or Indictable offense) Infraction (also called violation) Misdemeanor (or Summary offense)
Inchoate offenses
Attempt Conspiracy Incitement Solicitation
Offense against the person
Assassination Assault Battery Child abuse Criminal negligence Domestic violence False imprisonment Frameup Harassment Home invasion Hate crime Homicide Human trafficking Intimidation Kidnapping Menacing Manslaughter (corporate) Mayhem Murder felony Preterintention Homicide Negligent homicide Robbery Stalking Stabbing Torture
Sexual offenses
Adultery Bigamy Child sexual abuse Cybersex trafficking Fornication Homosexuality Incest Indecent exposure Masturbation Obscenity Prostitution Rape Pederasty Sex trafficking Sexual assault Sexual harassment Sexual slavery Voyeurism
Crimes against property
Arson Arms trafficking Blackmail Bribery Burglary Cybercrime Embezzlement Extortion False pretenses Forgery Fraud Gambling Intellectual property violation Larceny Looting Payola Pickpocketing Possessing stolen property Robbery Smuggling Tax evasion Theft Trespass to land Vandalism Mischief
Crimes against justice
Compounding Malfeasance in office Miscarriage of justice Misprision Obstruction Perjury Perverting the course of justice
Crimes against the public
Apostasy Begging Corruption Censorship violation Dueling Genocide Hostage-taking Ethnic cleansing Smuggling Illegal consumption (such as prohibition of drugs, alcohol, and smoking) Miscegenation Piracy Regicide Terrorism Usurpation War crimes
Crimes against animals
Cruelty to animals Poaching Wildlife smuggling Bestiality
Crimes against the state
Lèse-majesté Treason Espionage Secession Sedition Subversion
Defenses to liability
Actual innocence Automatism Consent Defense of property Diminished responsibility Duress Entrapment Ignorantia juris non excusat Infancy Insanity Justification Mistake (of law) Necessity Provocation Self-defense
Other common-law areas
Contracts Defenses Evidence Property Torts Wills, trusts and estates
Portals
Law
v t e

Robbery (from Old French rober ("to steal, ransack, etc."), from Proto-West Germanic *rauba ("booty"))^[1] is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, 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 or theft accomplished by an assault.^[2] Precise definitions of the offence may vary between jurisdictions. Robbery is differentiated from other forms of theft (such as burglary, shoplifting, pickpocketing, or car theft) by its inherently violent nature (a violent crime); whereas many lesser forms of theft are punished as misdemeanors, robbery is always a felony in jurisdictions that distinguish between the two. Under English law, most forms of theft are triable either way, whereas robbery is triable only on indictment. The word "rob" came via French from Late Latin words (e.g., deraubare) of Germanic origin, from Common Germanic raub "theft".

Among the types of robbery are armed robbery, which involves the use of a weapon, 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 such as a sidewalk, street, or parking lot. Carjacking is the act of stealing a car from a victim by force. 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).

In Canada, the Criminal Code 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.^[3]

Robbery is a statutory offence in the Republic of Ireland. It is created by section 14(1) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, which provides:

A person is guilty of robbery if he or she steals, and immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, uses force on any person or puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being then and there subjected to force.^[4]

Robbery is a statutory offence created by section 8(1) of the Theft Act 1968 which reads:

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.^[5]

Robbery is the only offence of aggravated theft.^[6]

There are no offences of aggravated robbery.^[6]

This requires evidence to show a theft as set out in section 1(1) of the Theft Act 1968. In R v Robinson^[7] 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 [1968] 1 QB 166, [1967] 2 WLR 655, 131 JP 265, 111 SJ 72, [1967] 1 All ER 483, 51 Cr App R 167, CA.

In R v Hale (1978)^[8] 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)^[9] 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),^[10] should apply; the court disagreed, preferring to follow R v Hale.

The threat or use of force must take place immediately before or at the time of the theft. 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 were deliberately omitted from section 8(1).^[11]

The book Archbold said that the facts in R v Harman,^[12] which did not amount to robbery in 1620, would not amount to robbery now.^[13]

It was held in R v Dawson and James (1978)^[14] 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)^[15] and Corcoran v Anderton (1980),^[16] both handbag-snatching cases. Stealing may involve a young child who is not aware that taking other persons' property is not in order.

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 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.^[17]

The force or threat may be directed against a third party, for example a customer in a jeweller's shop.^[18] 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.

Robbery is an indictable-only offence.^[19]

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 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.^[20]

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.^[20] The maximum legal punishment is imprisonment for life.^[21] It is also subject to the mandatory sentencing regime under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. 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^[20]

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.

Robbery was an offence under the common law of England. Matthew Hale provided the following definition:

Robbery is the felonious and violent taking of any money or goods from the person of another, putting him in fear, be the value thereof above or under one shilling.^[22]

The common law offence of robbery was abolished for all purposes not relating to offences committed before 1 January 1969^[23] by section 32(1)(a) of the Theft Act 1968.

See sections 40 to 43 of the Larceny Act 1861.

Section 23 of the Larceny Act 1916 read:

23.-(1) Every person who -

(a) being armed with any offensive weapon or instrument, or being together with one other person or more, robs, or assaults with intent to rob, any person;

(b) robs any person and, at the time of or immediately before or immediately after such robbery, uses any personal violence to any person;

shall be guilty of felony and on conviction thereof liable to penal servitude for life, and, in addition, if a male, to be once privately whipped.

(2) Every person who robs any person shall be guilty of felony and on conviction thereof liable to penal servitude for any term not exceeding fourteen years.

(3) Every person who assaults any person with intent to rob shall be guilty of felony and on conviction thereof liable to penal servitude for any term not exceeding five years.

This section provided maximum penalties for a number of offences of robbery and aggravated robbery.^[6]

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

Assault with intent to rob is an indictable-only offence.^[19] It is punishable with imprisonment for life or for any shorter term.^[21]

Assault with intent to rob is also subject to the mandatory sentencing regime under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Robbery is a statutory offence in Northern Ireland. It is created by section 8 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969.

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.^[24]

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.^[25] 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.^[25]

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.^[26] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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",^[25] it means apprehension – an awareness of the danger of immediate bodily harm.

The maximum sentence for robbery in California is 9 years, according to Penal Code section 213(a)(1)(A).^[27]

The threat or use of force does not have to take place immediately before or at the time of the theft.^[28] 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.^[29]

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 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.^[30][31]

Table 1: Robberies by country^[32]

Country	Robberies	Rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)	Year
Belgium	191,126	1,728.1	2012
Spain	502,546	1,074.9	2012
Mexico	746,894	618.0	2012
Costa Rica	25,066	521.6	2012
Brazil	979,571	493.1	2012
Nicaragua	28,429	488.3	2010
Chile	81,664	467.6	2012
Uruguay	15,414	454.0	2012
Ecuador	52,655	375.5	2006
Trinidad and Tobago	4,436	331.7	2012
Eswatini	3,392	309.8	2004
Panama*	10,038	264.0	2012
Honduras	17,980	226.6	2012
Paraguay	15,006	224.4	2012
Barbados	555	196.0	2012
France*	123,814	193.7	2012
Maldives	597	190.2	2008
Guyana	1,401	176.1	2012
Portugal	18,514	174.6	2012
Colombia	82,620	173.2	2012
Peru	48,785	168.6	2009
Saint Kitts and Nevis	87	162.4	2010
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	170	155.5	2011
Belize	447	141.3	2011
Bolivia	14,411	137.3	2012
Kazakhstan	20,259	124.5	2012
Botswana	2,461	123.9	2011
Bermuda	77	122.2	2004
United Kingdom (England and Wales)	65,156	116.2	2012
United States	354,520	111.7	2012
Italy	62,641	102.9	2012
Bahamas	369	100.7	2011
Jamaica	2,771	100.1	2012
Sweden	9,213	96.9	2012
Russian Federation	127,772	89.1	2011
Netherlands*	14,750	88.2	2012
El Salvador	5,521	87.7	2012
Grenada	89	84.4	2012
Morocco	25,935	82.9	2009
Malaysia	21,419	81.4	2006
Canada	27,680	79.5	2012
Luxembourg	398	77.1	2011
Israel	6,076	76.0	2012
Zimbabwe	8,796	68.8	2008
Guatemala	9,539	68.2	2009
Mauritius	814	65.9	2011
Lesotho	1,270	63.8	2009
Lithuania	1,923	63.5	2012
Ireland	2,818	61.6	2012
Malta*	257	60.1	2012
Belarus	5,722	60.1	2009
Germany	48,711	58.8	2012
United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)	1,040	57.4	2012
Greece	5,992	53.9	2012
Denmark	2,987	53.4	2012
Ukraine	23,300	50.6	2010
Austria	4,092	48.3	2012
New Zealand	2,086	46.8	2012
Latvia	943	45.8	2012
Kyrgyzstan	2,434	45.0	2011
Burundi	4,266	44.7	2011
Poland	16,685	43.7	2012
Bulgaria	2,955	40.6	2012
Sri Lanka	7,943	40.2	2004
Serbia	3,791	39.7	2012
Croatia	1,588	36.9	2012
Switzerland	2,746	36.4	2011
Estonia	457	35.4	2012
United Kingdom (Scotland)	1,832	34.6	2012
Czech Republic	3,416	32.0	2012
Hungary	3,036	30.4	2012
Finland	1,616	29.9	2012
Norway*	1,484	29.7	2012
Philippines*	26,988	27.9	2012
Algeria*	10,709	27.8	2012
Bahrain	306	27.4	2008
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,010	26.3	2012
Kuwait	657	23.1	2009
Mozambique	5,267	22.5	2009
North Macedonia	469	22.3	2012
Dominican Republic	2,091	20.3	2012
Mongolia	536	19.5	2011
Senegal	2,503	19.3	2010
Slovenia	391	18.9	2012
Slovakia	974	17.9	2012
Uganda	5,985	17.6	2010
Australia	3,839	16.9	2011
Iceland	50	15.3	2012
Cyprus	173	15.3	2012
Jordan	802	14.8	2006
Romania	3,193	14.7	2012
Georgia	638	14.5	2010
Liechtenstein	5	13.6	2012
Turkey	7,695	10.9	2008
Armenia	310	10.4	2012
Solomon Islands	52	10.3	2008
Albania	326	10.3	2012
Oman	255	9.8	2008
Hong Kong	616	8.6	2012
Andorra	6	7.7	2012
Kenya	3,262	7.6	2012
Singapore	290	5.5	2012
South Korea	2,586	5.3	2012
Indonesia	12,355	5.0	2012
Moldova	167	4.8	2012
Syria	870	4.3	2008
Tajikistan	288	3.7	2011
Lebanon	146	3.6	2006
Egypt	2,673	3.4	2011
Sierra Leone	184	3.3	2008
Côte d'Ivoire	591	3.2	2008
Turkmenistan	141	2.9	2006
Qatar	21	2.9	2004
Japan	3,658	2.9	2012
Azerbaijan	252	2.7	2012
Yemen	442	2.0	2009
India	23,393	1.9	2010
Nigeria	2,988	1.8	2012
Guinea	151	1.5	2007
Montenegro	7	1.1	2012
Thailand	500	0.8	2010
Bangladesh	856	0.6	2006
Nepal	148	0.6	2006
São Tomé and Príncipe	1	0.5	2011
Brunei Darussalam	2	0.5	2006
United Arab Emirates	45	0.5	2012
Rwanda	27	0.2	2012

Table 2: Homicides during a robbery, by country^[33]

Country	% Of Homicides w/ Robbery Motive	Robbery Homicide Rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)	Robbery Homicides	Year of Data
Bahamas	11.0%	3.82	14	2011
Dominican Republic	27.6%	6.10	626	2012
Grenada	7.1%	0.94	1	2012
Jamaica	36.5%	15.00	414	2011
Trinidad and Tobago	14.8%	3.91	52	2011
Costa Rica	16.2%	1.38	66	2012
El Salvador	0.9%	0.37	23	2012
Panama	8.9%	1.53	58	2012
Canada	7.9%	0.12	42	2011
United States	5.0%	0.24	733	2011
Colombia	3.6%	1.21	569	2011
Guyana	16.9%	2.77	22	2011
Uruguay	15.6%	0.92	31	2011
Japan	8.4%	0.03	37	2011
Mongolia	0.0%	0.00	0	2011
South Korea	8.0%	0.07	34	2011
Singapore	6.3%	0.02	1	2011
Armenia	5.6%	0.10	3	2012
Azerbaijan	2.1%	0.04	4	2010
Cyprus	22.2%	0.18	2	2011
Georgia	0.5%	0.02	1	2010
Bulgaria	5.0%	0.10	7	2012
Czech Republic	4.7%	0.04	4	2011
Finland	1.8%	0.04	2	2011
Iceland	0.0%	0.00	0	2012
Albania	2.1%	0.09	3	2011
Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.0%	0.00	0	2011
Croatia	0.0%	0.00	0	2012
Italy	5.1%	0.05	28	2011
Montenegro	4.8%	0.16	1	2011
Spain	3.0%	0.02	11	2012
Macedonia	3.3%	0.05	1	2011
Austria	4.2%	0.03	3	2011
Germany	9.4%	0.08	62	2011
Luxembourg	25.0%	0.20	1	2011
Switzerland	2.2%	0.01	1	2011
Australia	3.0%	0.04	8	2009

This section may contain irrelevant references to popular culture. Please help Wikipedia to improve this section by removing the content or adding citations to reliable and independent sources. (January 2019)

Robberies have been depicted, sometimes graphically, in various forms of media, and several robbers have become pop icons, such as Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger. Examples of media works focused on robberies include:

• The Killing (1956), by Stanley Kubrick, depicts a graphic robbery.
• Wake Up and Die (1966) is an Italian crime drama film directed by Carlo Lizzani, based on the real life of Luciano Lutring ("il solista del mitra", translation: "the submachine soloist"), who kept his weapon in a violin case.^[34]
• Take the Money and Run (1969), by Woody Allen, 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.^[34]
• Dog Day Afternoon (1975) depicts a bank robbery which escalates to a hostage situation.
• Reservoir Dogs (1992), by Quentin Tarantino, shows the aftermath of a robbery, with an abundance of lurid details.

• 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).^[35]
• Lionel White's Bloodhound mysteries novel, No.116, Clean Break (1955)^[36] was the basis for Stanley Kubrick's film The Killing (1956).^[37]

Video games Payday: The Heist, Payday 2 and Payday 3 are games by Overkill Software where one of the main objectives is to steal items of monetary value at places such as banks, art galleries, armored trucks, and more.^[38]

• Matthew Hale. Historia Placitorum Coronae. 1736. 1800 Edition. Volume 1. Chapter XLVI. Pages 532 to 538.

• Allen, Michael. (2005). Textbook on Criminal Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-927918-7.
• Criminal Law Revision Committee. 8th Report. Theft and Related Offences. Cmnd. 2977
• Griew, Edward. Theft Acts 1968 & 1978. London: Sweet & Maxwell. London: LexisNexis. ISBN 0-406-89545-7