Robbery problem Ken and Norman

            
             S8 (1) of the theft act 1968 states that a person commits robbery if he steals and immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so uses force or seeks to put any person in fear of force. The maximum sentence for robbery is life imprisonment this obviously is only for the most extreme cases of violence. If there is no theft committed then there can be no robbery i.e. if there is just harm then the def would be charged with assault etc. it can also cover anything from street muggings to bank robbery with guns. In Dawson the judge said a mere nudge would suffice as force but it is up to the jury to decide of course. In Clouden the court said that force need not be applied to the person it could also be applied to belongings e.g. handbag. In Smith v desmond hall it was said that force does not need to be against the owner of the property in this case it was directed to the night watchman. It has been said also that a threat of future force is not sufficient for robbery and that the defendant has only to seek to put the victim in fear of force he doesn't actually have to succeed it will still be robbery although this may give the def a slight defence as he could try to persuade the jury that he wasn't trying to put fear into the victim although this could be hard to prove. In R v Shendley the judge stated that force must be used with the intention to steal. If the intention to steal is formed afterwards then there will be no robbery only theft. The mens rea for robbery is theft, as the defendant must try to steal something. Defences for robbery are in section2 (1) these are (a) the accused believes that he had a legal right to deprive the other person of it. (b) He believes that he would have the consent of the owner had they known of the circumstances. (c) He believes that the owner could not be traced by taking "reasonable steps". In R v Robinson the defendant honestly thought that the money was his rightfully so he was not dishonest therefore there was no robbery being committed, as there was no theft.