Robbery - United States

United States

In the United States, robbery is generally treated as an aggravated form of common law larceny. The elements of robbery are:

1. a trespassory

2. taking and

3. carrying away

4. of the personal property

5. of another

6. with the intent to steal

7. from the person or presence of the victim

8. by force or threat of force.

The first six elements are the same as common law larceny. It is the last two elements that aggravate the crime to common law robbery.

from the person or presence of the victim - robbery requires that the property be taken directly from the person of the victim or from his presence. Note that this is different from larceny which simply requires that property be taken from the victim’s possession, actual or constructive. Property is “on the victim's person” if the victim is actually holding the property, or the property is contained within clothing the vicitim is wearing or is attached to victim's body such as a watch or earrings. Property is in a person’s presence when it is within the area of his immediate control. The property has to be close enough to the victim's person that the victim could have prevented its taking if she had not been placed in fear or intimidation.

by force or threat of force - the use of force or threat of force is the defining element of robbery. For there to be robbery there must be “force or fear” in perpetrating the theft. Questions concerning the degree of force necessary for robbery have been the subject of much litigation. Merely snatching the property from the victim's person is not sufficient force unless the victim resists or one of the items is attached or carried in such a way that a significant amount of force must be used to free the item from the victim's person.

For robbery the victim must be placed in “fear” of immediate harm by threat or intimidation. The threat need not be directed at the victim personally. Threats to third parties are sufficient. The threat must be one of present rather than future personal harm. Fear does not mean “fright”. It means apprehension - an awareness of the danger of immediate bodily harm.