What is Robbery Defence?
Robbery is theft using force or the threat of force against a person. It is an indictable offence tried in the Crown Court. Whether force or a threat of force was used — and the nature of it — is frequently a central issue in contested cases.
A robbery charge puts the defendant in the Crown Court facing a custodial sentence as the likely outcome on conviction. The defences — identification, joint enterprise, the degree of force used — need to be assessed against the prosecution's evidence before any decision about plea is made.
Crown Court
Identification and role are the two most important questions.
Who was there, what they knew, and what they did are each open to examination. Early disclosure review reveals what the prosecution has.
How a robbery case proceeds
Robbery is treated as one of the most serious offences, so an arrest is usually followed by a remand application and bail is hard to secure. The investigation leans on CCTV, phone location data, and identification procedures to place a suspect at the scene.
The case bypasses any trial at the Magistrates’ Court and is sent straight to the Crown Court. On conviction a custodial sentence is the usual starting point, even for someone with no previous convictions.
How the defence is built
Identification is frequently the first battleground. Where a suspect was masked or the incident was brief, eyewitness accounts and CCTV can be tested for reliability, and the accuracy of phone location evidence can be challenged.
Where more than one person is involved, the question is what each actually did and intended. Being present is not the same as taking part, and the defence examines whether a person shared the intention to use force and steal. Whether what happened was truly robbery, rather than a separate theft and assault, can also be in issue.
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Common questions
- Will I be remanded in custody?
- Possibly. Bail is contested in robbery cases, and the court weighs the seriousness and any risk to witnesses, so remand is a real prospect. There is still a bail argument to make, and how it is presented matters.
- The CCTV does not clearly show me — does that matter?
- Yes. Identification is often the weakest part of a robbery case. Unclear footage, a brief sighting, or a masked suspect all give grounds to test how safe the identification really is.
- I was there but I did not use force — will I still be convicted?
- Not automatically. The prosecution would have to show you shared the plan to use force and steal, not merely that you were present. What you knew and what you did are exactly what the defence examines.
- What makes it robbery rather than theft?
- Robbery is theft combined with force, or the threat of force, used in order to steal. If force was not used to carry out the theft — for example a fight that happened to be followed by a taking — the right charges may be separate theft and assault, which are treated differently.
Astons Law Chambers is authorised under the Bar Standards Board's Public Access scheme to accept instructions directly from members of the public. The practice is also authorised to conduct litigation, so the case can be run end-to-end without a separate solicitor. Suitability is assessed during the first call; where a solicitor is needed, Astons Law Chambers will say so and refer where useful.
For matters that qualify for public funding, see how legal aid works at Astons Law Chambers — eligible cases are referred to a partner solicitor firm at no cost.
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