Robbery
Robbery is a serious, wide-ranging offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
If you have been charged with robbery, our Solicitors will help you navigate police interviews, bail, and attending Court.
By instructing us, you will immediately feel reassured and confident that you have one of the most experienced, talented criminal law teams in in Coventry, Warwickshire and across the Midlands on your side.
Based in our offices in Coventry city centre, we are a diverse, multi-lingual law firm that uses best-in-class technology to provide clients with a streamlined, modern, and highly effective criminal defence. Furthermore, years of experience in criminal law means we have created relationships with some of the UK’s best Barristers and King’s Counsel. Our clients also benefit from our ability to instruct the country’s most respected expert witnesses who can provide the Court with the facts required to support a not guilty plea or mitigate the sentence handed down by a Judge.
Advising and representing people accused of committing a criminal offence
We are highly recommended as an expert criminal defence law firm for people accused of committing a crime. We provide 24/7 police station representation. Therefore, will be at your side, protecting your interests from the start. Because we understand the correct procedure the police must follow when making an arrest, we will carefully examine the circumstances surrounding you being detained and get the charges dropped if proper processes were not complied with.
Our criminal law solicitors and their teams have in-depth experience in defending serious criminal charges, including robbery. We work with the country’s top expert witnesses and focus on providing you with advice and representation you can trust. We know that your reputation, your freedom, and your family’s financial security is at stake – therefore, we never give up until every appeal has been exhausted.
Below are several common questions clients ask us concerning the offence of robbery.
What is robbery?
Although they are sometimes used interchangeably, robbery, burglary, and theft are different offences.
The Theft Act 1968 defines robbery as:
“A person is 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.”
There are many crimes that fall under the definition of robbery, including:
- Street robbery
- Mugging
- Robbing from a business.
- Carjacking
- Bank robbery
Armed robbery describes a robbery that involves the use of a weapon such as a firearm.
Burglary involves entering a building as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict grievous bodily harm or do unlawful damage to the building, or having entered the building as a trespasser stealing or attempting to steal or inflicting or attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm.
Theft is where a person dishonestly takes property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it. For instance, the act of shoplifting is depriving the store owner of items that, until they are sold, belong to them.
What is the sentence if I am convicted of robbery?
Robbery charges can only be heard in the Crown Court. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment; however, the Court will consider several factors when deciding on an appropriate sentence.
A Crown Court judge will reference three levels of seriousness when deciding what sentence to hand down should you be convicted of robbery:
- Robbery using minimal force.
- Robbery using a weapon.
- Robbery using a weapon which causes injury.
If the following factors are present, the sentence will be increased:
- The victim was a vulnerable person.
- Several people were involved, and you were the leader/instigator of the crime.
- The items that were stolen were valuable.
- The offence took place at night.
- The offence was planned.
The mitigating factors the Court will take into consideration which can reduce the sentence include:
- The offence was opportunistic with little or no prior planning.
- You only played a small part in the offence (for example, you drove the getaway car).
- The stolen goods were voluntarily returned to their rightful owner.
Our Robbery Solicitors have a strong reputation in gaining acquittals or reducing our clients’ sentences. You can rely on us to be well-prepared because we take the time to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the offence you have been charged with.
Why choose us?
Regardless of the charges against you, you are entitled to a criminal defence. We do not judge our clients; our only objective is to defend you against the Prosecution’s allegations. You can be confident that by instructing us to defend you, your chances of acquittal or a reduced sentence are greatly improved. The most important factor is to contact us as soon as you become aware of the criminal charges brought against you.
People choose and recommend us not just in Coventry, Rugby and Leamington, but across the Midlands and the whole of the UK.
To receive expert advice and if you have been charged with burglary, please contact us using the form below.