Robbery, Burglary and Blackmail
Robbery
- s.8 Theft Act 1968 — 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.
- Theft
• No robbery if elements of theft are missing (Robinson [1977])
• Robbery complete when something is appropriated, it is not necessary for property to be taken
away by owner (Corcoran v Anderton [1980])
• There can only be a conviction for robbery if the intention to permanently deprive arose at the
time of taking the property (Vinall [2012])
- Use or threat of force
• ‘Force’ was an ordinary word and its interpretation was to be left to the jury (Dawson and James
[1977])
• Where only the least touching is used, for example in order to pick a person’s pocket, the
defendant should be charged with theft (P v DPP [2013])
• V does not need to fear force, D just needs to seek to put someone in fear of force (Codsi [2009])
• Threat of force does not need to be made against the person from whom the property is stolen, it
can be made to third party
• Direct physical contact between the robber and V not needed, can be indirect (R v Martins
[2021])
- Immediately before or at the time of stealing
• Force after would amount to another offence (assault or battery)
- In order to steal
• Must have mens rea of theft
- Assault with intent to rob
• s.8(2) — where D does not commit theft but does assault the victim while attempting to steal
Burglary
- s.9 Theft Act 1968 — guilty if
• s.9(1)(a) — they enter any building or part of a building as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict
GBH, or do unlawful damage to the building or anything in it
• s.9(1)(b) — if, having entered a building or part of a building as a trespasser, they steal or attempt
to steal anything in the building or inflict or attempt to inflict GBH on any person in the building
- s.9(1)(a)
• Entry
• Physical entry and intention to enter (AR)
• Must be ‘effective and substantial’ (Collins [1973])
• Not fully defined but Brown [1985] shows that entry of whole body not necessary
• Unclear whether entry of inanimate object counts
• Building or part of a building (AR)
• Case law suggests that a building is a structure of considerable size with some degree of
permanence
• B and S v Leathley [1979] — 25-foot-long freezer held to be a building because it had not been
moved in over 2 years
• s.9(4) Theft Act — inhabited vehicle or vessel where person having habitation in it is not there
counts as building (caravan, houseboat, etc.)
Robbery
- s.8 Theft Act 1968 — 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.
- Theft
• No robbery if elements of theft are missing (Robinson [1977])
• Robbery complete when something is appropriated, it is not necessary for property to be taken
away by owner (Corcoran v Anderton [1980])
• There can only be a conviction for robbery if the intention to permanently deprive arose at the
time of taking the property (Vinall [2012])
- Use or threat of force
• ‘Force’ was an ordinary word and its interpretation was to be left to the jury (Dawson and James
[1977])
• Where only the least touching is used, for example in order to pick a person’s pocket, the
defendant should be charged with theft (P v DPP [2013])
• V does not need to fear force, D just needs to seek to put someone in fear of force (Codsi [2009])
• Threat of force does not need to be made against the person from whom the property is stolen, it
can be made to third party
• Direct physical contact between the robber and V not needed, can be indirect (R v Martins
[2021])
- Immediately before or at the time of stealing
• Force after would amount to another offence (assault or battery)
- In order to steal
• Must have mens rea of theft
- Assault with intent to rob
• s.8(2) — where D does not commit theft but does assault the victim while attempting to steal
Burglary
- s.9 Theft Act 1968 — guilty if
• s.9(1)(a) — they enter any building or part of a building as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict
GBH, or do unlawful damage to the building or anything in it
• s.9(1)(b) — if, having entered a building or part of a building as a trespasser, they steal or attempt
to steal anything in the building or inflict or attempt to inflict GBH on any person in the building
- s.9(1)(a)
• Entry
• Physical entry and intention to enter (AR)
• Must be ‘effective and substantial’ (Collins [1973])
• Not fully defined but Brown [1985] shows that entry of whole body not necessary
• Unclear whether entry of inanimate object counts
• Building or part of a building (AR)
• Case law suggests that a building is a structure of considerable size with some degree of
permanence
• B and S v Leathley [1979] — 25-foot-long freezer held to be a building because it had not been
moved in over 2 years
• s.9(4) Theft Act — inhabited vehicle or vessel where person having habitation in it is not there
counts as building (caravan, houseboat, etc.)
