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Burglary/Robbery

If you are charged with an offence of burglary, depending on the circumstances and if you have previous convictions the case may be heard either in the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court. All offences of robbery are transferred to the Crown Court.

Burglary

A person is guilty of burglary if:

i) He enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and with intent to commit any such offence as mentioned in sub section (ii) below or
ii) 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 inflict or attempt to inflict any person therein any grievous bodily harm.

The offences referred to in sub section (i) 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 therein, and of doing unlawful damage to the building or anything therein.

Burglary of dwellinghouses carries a greater sentence on conviction.

Robbery

The criminal offence of robbery falls with Section 8 of the Theft Act 1968. The criminal offence of robbery is a type of aggravated theft in which the offence of theft will be established plus there will be some force of threatened force of the person.

The person will be guilty of the criminal offence of robbery, if they steal and immediately before or at the time of doing so and in order to do so he or she uses force on any other person or puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being then and there subject to force.

What elements need to be established in order to find the criminal offence of robbery?

The following elements need to be established in order to find the criminal offence of robbery:

That an individual steals:

• Immediately before or at any time of stealing
• Use of force or threat of force
• On any person
• Uses a threat of force in order to steal

What happens if an individual has stolen something and has it in their possession but uses force to escape?

The offence of theft will be complete as soon as the appropriation has taken place. This means that once an individual has the article in their possession the offence will have occurred. This therefore means that if a strict interpretation of the offence is taken use of force to escape with stolen property would fall outside the scope of the offence of robbery.

In this situation, however, the courts have taken a pragmatic and purposeful approach treating the appropriation as a continuing act. This means that any force used to escape with stolen property will amount to robbery.

Is there a specific required level of force?

How much force is to be required in order to establish whether the criminal offence of robbery has taken place is a question to be decided upon by the jury.

The offence of robbery is regarded as a serious matter. A wide range of sentencing to include life imprisonment.

If you are unfortunate to be suspected of committing or being involved in an offence of this kind our expert legal team are here to help and advise.

We are available if you to be interviewed at the Police Station. The Police have our contact details. Alternatively call us to arrange an initial free interview on 0114 249 3222 (day) 07768 014491 (out of hours).