Robbery charges in Queensland

What turns a stealing into a robbery

Section 409 requires that you steal something and, immediately before or after, use or threaten actual violence to any person or property in order to obtain the thing, to retain it, or to prevent or overcome resistance.

The threshold for violence is low. Snatching a bag hard enough that the strap resists, pushing someone aside to get past, or saying words that convey a threat are all capable of amounting to robbery. Courts have consistently held that even minimal force will do, which is why what feels like a theft to the person charged is prosecuted as a robbery.

What counts as armed, and what counts as in company

A dangerous or offensive weapon is not limited to guns and knives. A screwdriver, a syringe, a bottle or a length of pipe can all qualify depending on how it was used or presented. Critically, section 411 also captures pretending to be armed, so a hand in a pocket accompanied by a demand is enough.

In company means acting with at least one other person who is present and sharing a common intention. A driver who waits outside is often charged as a party under section 7, and whether they were present and participating is a genuine issue in many cases.

Personal violence in section 411(2) means violence actually applied, at, immediately before or immediately after the robbery. It is a distinct aggravation from wounding.

Where robbery cases are actually fought

• Identification. Most robberies involve a covered face, poor CCTV and a short encounter. Identification evidence is notoriously unreliable and attracts a mandatory jury warning. Challenge the process by which the identification was made.
• Whether there was a stealing at all. If you honestly believed you were entitled to the property, section 22(2) claim of right can defeat the stealing element and with it the robbery. This arises more often than people expect, particularly in drug debt cases.
• The aggravating circumstance. Even where the robbery is admitted, whether the object was a dangerous or offensive weapon, or whether a second person was truly in company, can be the difference between a 14 year maximum and life.
• Party liability, section 7. Being present is not enough. The prosecution must prove you aided, counselled or procured, or were party to a common unlawful purpose under section 8.
• Intoxication and mental health. Rarely a defence, frequently the most important mitigation, particularly where the offending was to fund an addiction.

Sentencing reality

Robbery is not a charge that resolves with a fine. Queensland courts approach armed robbery, particularly of commercial premises or taxi drivers, on the basis that general deterrence dominates, and actual imprisonment is the starting point even for a first offender.

Where the offending involved a weapon and terrified staff, a head sentence in the range of several years with parole eligibility after a portion served is the ordinary outcome. Where the robbery was opportunistic, involved no weapon and a small amount, and the offender is young with a genuine plan for rehabilitation, sentences involving immediate parole release or a suspended term are achievable.

If a serious violent offence declaration is made under section 161B of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), you must serve 80 per cent of the sentence before parole eligibility. Whether that declaration is made is often the single most valuable argument at a robbery sentence.