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Robbery and burglary: elements and sentences
Robbery is theft using or threatening force at or just before the time of the theft (Theft Act 1968 s.8, maximum life). Burglary is entering a building as a trespasser to steal, cause grievous bodily harm or do criminal damage, or stealing or causing GBH after entering as a trespasser (s.9).
Robbery (Theft Act 1968 s.8)
A person commits robbery if they steal and, immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, use force on any person or put or seek to put any person in fear of force being used there and then. The prosecution must prove a complete theft first: if there is no theft (for example, a genuine belief in a legal right to the property under s.2), there is no robbery (see Theft: the definition, dishonesty and penalties). Only slight force is needed; wrenching a bag or basket from someone's grip can be enough (R v Clouden (1987)). Robbery is indictable only, tried in the Crown Court, with a maximum of life imprisonment. Assault with intent to rob is a separate offence with the same maximum.
Burglary (Theft Act 1968 s.9)
There are two forms:
- s.9(1)(a): entering a building or part of a building as a trespasser with intent to steal, to inflict grievous bodily harm or to do unlawful damage. The offence is complete on entry, even if nothing is taken.
- s.9(1)(b): having entered as a trespasser, stealing or attempting to steal, or inflicting or attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm.
The defendant must know, or be reckless as to whether, they are a trespasser. Entering with permission but for a purpose outside that permission can make a person a trespasser (R v Jones and Smith [1976]). The maximum is 14 years for a dwelling and 10 years for other buildings (s.9(4)).
Venue and sentence
- Burglary is usually triable either way, but it is Crown Court only where someone in a dwelling was subjected to violence or the threat of it, or where the intended or committed offence is itself indictable only (Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 Sch.1 para 28).
- Aggravated burglary, where the defendant has a firearm, imitation firearm, weapon of offence or explosive with them at the time (s.10), is indictable only with a maximum of life.
- A third domestic burglary by an adult attracts a minimum sentence of 3 years and is tried only in the Crown Court. For offences committed on or after 28 June 2022, the court may go below the minimum only in exceptional circumstances (Sentencing Act 2020 s.314). A guilty plea can reduce it by up to 20% (see Credit for a guilty plea: how much less a sentence is).
In practice
Identification, forensic links (fingerprints, DNA, footwear marks) and phone or CCTV evidence are often decisive. Whether a defendant was truly a trespasser, and what was intended on entry, are frequent issues.
Authorities: Theft Act 1968 ss.8, 9, 10; R v Clouden [1987] Crim LR 56; R v Jones and Smith [1976] 1 WLR 672; Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 Sch.1 para 28; Sentencing Act 2020 s.314 (as amended by Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 s.124)