Robbery

What is Robbery?

The act of robbery is when a person steals, and just before, or at the time of doing so, they use force or make a person fear they will be subjected to force.

Street and less sophisticated commercial robberies that take place in public places. It also includes unsophisticated robberies within commercial premises.

Robbery of dwelling which refer to robberies that take place from a dwelling which can include places such as Motor homes or canal boats.

Professionally planned commercial robberies involving a significant degree of planning, sophistication, or organisation.

What is the difference between Robbery, Burglary & Theft?

In basic terms, robbery is when someone steals from a person using force or makes them think force will be used. Theft is when someone’s property is taken but it does not involve the use of force. Burglary is illegally entering a property in order to steal property from it.

What are the Sentencing Guidelines for robbery?

Sentencing for robbery will depend on the category.

Robbery from dwelling – Anywhere between 1 and 16 years depending on a number of different criteria. It can be increased to life imprisonment in certain extreme cases.

Motivation.
Whether any weapons were used.
Whether there was any coercion or intimation to carry out the burglary.
Scale of violence used.
The amount of physical/psychological impact caused.

Street and less sophisticated commercial robberies – Anywhere between 1 year through to 16 years depending on similar criteria as that from dwellings.

Professionally planned commercial robberies

Anywhere between 18 months through to 120 years depending on similar criteria as robbery from dwellings.

What should you do if you've been charged for Robbery?

If you or a family member are accused of robbery, you should seek legal advice immediately. It is vital that you receive the best advice possible and provide as much detail of the facts of your case as you can to ensure the right result for you.

Useful Information

Within this site

More info about Theft charges

Legal Aid or privately funding

Find out more about our people

External

Sentencing guidelines

CPS – detailed info on theft/robbery act charges

Met Police website