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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 C ...
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 omniprese ...
, 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 accomplished by an
assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...
. Precise definitions of the offence may vary between jurisdictions. Robbery is differentiated from other forms of theft (such as
burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...
,
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 item ...
,
pickpocketing Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A ...
, 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 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 res ...
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 ...
, whereas robbery is triable only on indictment. The word "rob" came via
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
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 bra ...
''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, s ...
, 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 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 Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking ha ...
" (organized robbery on underground train systems).


Canada

In Canada, the Criminal Code makes robbery an
indictable 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 ...
, subject to a maximum penalty of
life imprisonment 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 ...
. 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 the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
. It is created by section 14(1) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, which provides:


United Kingdom


England and Wales

Robbery is a statutory offence created by section 8(1) of the Theft Act 1968 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 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 ( ...
1 QB 166,
967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the ne ...
2 WLR 655, 131 JP 265, 111 SJ 72,
967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the ne ...
1 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. 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). 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 Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...
. Dishonestly dealing with property stolen during a robbery will constitute an offence of handling.


Mode of trial

Robbery is an indictable-only offence.This is the effect of section 8(2) of the Theft Act 1968 and paragraph 28(a) of Schedule 1 to the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.


Sentence

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 performe ...
. 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 for ...
. 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 An offender may also serve a longer sentence if they are convicted of other offences alongside the robbery, such as
assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...
and
grievous bodily harm Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...
.


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 omniprese ...
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.


= Statute

= See sections 40 to 43 of the Larceny Act 1861. Section 23 of the Larceny Act 1916 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. 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 for ...
or for any shorter term. Assault with intent to rob is also subject to the mandatory sentencing regime under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.


Northern Ireland

Robbery is a statutory offence in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
. It is created b
section 8
of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969.


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 icons, such as
Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...
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 Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
, depicts a graphic robbery. * ''
Wake Up and Die ''Wake Up and Die'' (Italian: ''Svegliati e uccidi''), also known as ''Wake Up and Kill'' and ''I Kill for Kicks'', is a 1966 Italian crime drama film directed by Carlo Lizzani, based on the real life of Luciano Lutring, an Italian criminal known ...
'' (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. * ''
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 ...
'' (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 José Giovanni (22 June 1923, Paris, France – 24 April 2004, Lausanne, Switzerland) was the pseudonym of Joseph Damiani, a French writer and film-maker of Corsican origin who became a naturalized Swiss citizen in 1986. A former collaborationis ...
, is loosely based on Luciano Lutring's autobiography. Lutring is played by
Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...
. * '' Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975) depicts a bank robbery which escalates to a hostage situation. * '' Reservoir Dogs'' (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 Luciano Lutring (30 December 1937 – 13 May 2013) was an Italian criminal, author and painter, known as "the submachine gun soloist" ("il solista del mitra"), because he kept the weapon in a violin case. Born in Milan, Lutring carried out hundr ...
''. He was an Italian criminal, author, and painter who, when committing robberies, worked alone (which is rather rare for a robber). * Lionel White'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'' are both 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.


See also


References

* Matthew Hale. Historia Placitorum Coronae. 1736. 1800 Edition. Volume 1. Chapter XLVI. Page
532
to 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

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