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Robbery, Burglary and Theft Defence

If you have been accused of theft, robbery or burglary, contact our specialist criminal defence solicitors for advice. We will do everything possible to clear your name or reduce the penalties against you.

All stealing offences, from pickpocketing someone in the street to robbing someone with a weapon, can result in severe penalties and a criminal record.

It’s important to have the right advice and strongest possible defence strategy at the police station, during any criminal investigation and at court.

Our Criminal Defence team is one of the oldest and most experienced in the North West of England. We have 200 of experience standing by our clients in robbery, burglary and theft cases, and we are ranked in the top 10 of criminal defence firms in the country based on client feedback at Review Solicitors. So, you can trust us to have the knowledge and experience you need to help you.

Get in touch with our robbery, burglary and theft solicitors

If you or someone you know needs fast, expert criminal law advice and defence at the police station, during an investigation or at court, get in touch with our theft, robbery and burglary solicitors in Liverpool, Runcorn or Warrington.

Call 03444 124348 | Ask us a Question
Or
For urgent out of hours matters, call FREEPHONE 0808 196 1790

We regularly travel across the country to assist people at the police station or at court. Our lawyers are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Our police station representation service is free of charge. It is your legal right to have representation at the police station.

We highly recommend that you do not answer the police’s questions about an alleged offence until we are by your side to advise you. Anything you say during a police interview could be used in a decision to charge you or as evidence in court.

This includes if you have been invited for a voluntary interview under caution – these interviews are not casual chats. Instead, ask to call Bell Lamb & Joynson as soon as possible.

How our theft, burglary and robbery lawyers can help you

Theft, burglary and robbery all fall under laws called the Theft Acts 1968 and 1978. They mostly involve taking someone else’s property without permission but are sometimes combined with other criminal elements such as criminal damage.

We are skilled at defending people accused of all types of Theft Act offences, from straightforward theft cases to serious matters of aggravated burglary and offences involving violence.

Our goal is to challenge any evidence against you, such as casting doubt on your intentions to permanently deprive someone of their property.

In many cases, we can end the case at the police station by persuading the police to take no further action.

In other cases, we are able to achieve a full acquittal (not guilty verdict) at court or get the charges or penalties against you reduced.

Contacting a solicitor is the best possible choice you can make when facing allegations of theft, burglary or robbery. We hope you’ll choose us.

Theft

Theft is committed when a person dishonestly takes another person’s property with no intention of giving it back. You can be accused of theft in many situations, for example:

  • Shoplifting
  • Pickpocketing
  • Taking money or items from work

If charged with theft, you could be tried in the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court. The Crown Court handles more serious cases, and the judges have more sentencing powers.

Being accused of theft doesn’t have to ruin your life. With the right legal advice, it’s possible to reduce the impact and even clear your name altogether. Our theft solicitors can help you with this.

Burglary

Burglary is when a person trespasses on a property with the intent to commit theft, grievous bodily harm (GBH) or criminal damage, and, having entered as a trespasser, steals or inflicts/attempts to inflict GBH.

Like theft, burglary can be tried at either the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court. Burglary is a complicated offence with many different requirements. For example, although people usually think of burglary as ‘breaking and entering’, a physical break-in is not necessary. It’s possible to commit burglary by climbing in through an open window or reaching in through the letterbox to steal someone’s keys.

Because of the complicated factors involved, it’s important to have the legal advice of a solicitor who specialises in this area, such as our burglary solicitors.

We can also advise on aggravated burglary, which involves committing burglary while in possession of a weapon such as a firearm, imitation firearm or explosive.

Robbery

A person commits robbery if they steal and, immediately before or at the time of stealing and in order to steal, they use force on another person or try to cause fear of force to another person.

Examples of robbery can include:

  • Mugging people, using weapons or not
  • Snatching mobile phones from people
  • Robbing someone in their home

Robbery is a serious criminal offence that can only be tried in the Crown Court with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. There is a huge range of factors that affect what sentence a person gets, such as the force used, whether a weapon was involved, and whether the victim was targeted because of their race, religion or another protected characteristic.

Robbery may also be combined with other criminal offences. For example, if a person mugs someone with an imitation gun, they may also be charged with a firearms offence.

Our robbery solicitors can defend you against these serious allegations. We’ll take all possible steps to challenge the evidence against you and cast doubt on your involvement.

We have experience handling cases of all complexity, from straightforward muggings to large-scale criminal conspiracies to rob involving complex forensic and technological evidence.

Other Theft Act offences

These laws also cover other criminal offences, including:

  • Taking without consent (such as taking someone’s car)
  • Abstracting electricity
  • Blackmail
  • Handling stolen goods
  • Retention of a wrongful credit
  • Going equipped (possessing articles away from home for use in a burglary or theft)
  • Making off without payment

We can also assist with any of these criminal offences, providing expert advice at the police station, during criminal investigations and at court.

Get in touch with our robbery, burglary and theft solicitors

If you or someone you know needs fast, expert criminal law advice and defence at the police station, during an investigation or at court, get in touch with our theft, robbery and burglary solicitors in Liverpool, Runcorn or Warrington.

Call 03444 124348 | Ask us a Question
Or
For urgent out of hours matters, call FREEPHONE 0808 196 1790

We regularly travel across the country to assist people at the police station or at court. Our lawyers are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.