Theft and robbery are property offences, but the Criminal Code separates them by a decisive element: violence or intimidation against persons, or use of force on things to access property or overcome resistance. On the street, a snatch without struggle may be theft; a push to escape may lean toward robbery with violence. In Madrid, both appear often in immediate trials and in investigations built on CCTV and witnesses. This analysis clarifies typicity, orientative sentences, and factual details that matter in defence.
Theft: what the offence requires
Theft (Article 234 CP) is taking movable property belonging to another without violence or intimidation against persons, and without force on things in the sense robbery requires.
Typical examples: pickpocketing on public transport without the victim noticing struggle, taking goods in a shop without breaking access, taking briefly unattended property without coercion.
Value and circumstances modify the sentence: minor, less serious, and aggravated theft by amount and repeat offending.
Prior property convictions increase the penal response even when the act seems “small”.
Robbery: violence, intimidation, and force on things
Robbery (Article 237 CP and following) requires violence or intimidation against persons to commit the offence, or force on things to enter or leave.
Violence can be minimal but enough if it overcomes resistance or aids escape. A bag pull that makes the victim fall, a push, a credible verbal threat: prosecution usually charges robbery.
Robbery with force on things includes breaking in, forcing doors, use of tools. Do not confuse with theft aggravated only by value.
Aggravated subtypes (weapons, groups, vehicles) carry much higher sentences. Initial charge matters because it shapes immediate trial, pretrial detention, and pleas.
Orientative sentences and real-world consequences
Sentences vary by modality, amount, record, and aggravating or mitigating factors. Minor theft may fit faster procedures; robbery with less serious or serious violence carries higher prison ranges and greater likelihood of precautionary measures.
Civil liability requires return or compensation to the injured party. Repairing before trial can influence sentence but does not erase the offence.
Criminal record affects employment, immigration, and future charging. A poorly advised plea can be cheaper today and costlier in five years.
Minors follow a different regime (youth justice law), but theft/robbery distinction still matters for measures and files.
Factual details that tilt the charge
Witnesses and CCTV often fix whether there was struggle, a push, or a threat. The detainee’s account must be checked against that, not invented.
Group taking: roles (lookout, grab, run) can aggravate as gang activity even if only one touches the item.
Low-value objects do not always mean minor theft if violence exists: less serious robbery with violence does not depend only on phone price.
Challenging the charge (theft vs robbery) is a legitimate defence line when evidence does not prove violence or force. That needs a lawyer from arrest or summons stage.
What to do if you are charged with either
Request the police report and viewing of recordings if any. Without known evidence, do not give a full account.
Consider compensating the injured party only on your lawyer’s advice; informal payments without record can be used against you.
If the case goes to immediate trial, time to challenge the charge is minimal. Activate defence immediately.
Tell us what the complaint says, whether there was physical contact with the victim, and which items are alleged. That fixes whether the fight is typicity, authorship, sentence, or evidence.