19 Jan 26
When you are charged with Penal Code 211 (robbery), the legal consequences are dire. Robbery is not simply taking property that does not belong to you; it is classified as a crime against a person because it involves force or fear.
When the dispatcher transmits that code, what they are telling the officers is that you kidnapped someone and robbed them permanently of their property using force or fear. A weapon was used, or the threat of violence was made, but whatever happens, the law will not view your actions as just larceny, but rather as a felony strike. Under Penal Code 211, the prosecution must prove intimidation through the use of force or fear, but not necessarily by larceny.
Understanding the nuances of this code is crucial, as it shapes the state’s perception of your intentions and actions in such critical situations.
Police Terminology (10-Codes vs. Penal Codes)
In law enforcement, communication must be quick, accurate, and safe. To do that, the officers employ different sets of shorthand, including 10-codes, response modes, and penal codes. These systems help police dispatch and radio traffic communicate effectively.
10-Codes and Operational Status
Brevity codes, also known as 10-codes, are standardized codes used to describe routine messages or status updates. These codes were invented in the 1930s to address the shortcomings of early radio devices, ensuring that, in the event of transmission loss, the main message remains intact. For example, the frequent use of the word “10-4” confirms acknowledgement, whereas “10-20” requests a current location. In addition to these checks, each sequence has special codes to deal with routine logistics, for example, a missing person report, “10-65,” or an animal pickup, “10-91G.”
These codes condense complicated updates to two-digit numbers. Officers may use “10-54” to report a possible deceased person. Since each agency operates in a local environment, these particular 10-codes often differ across jurisdictions. A given code may have one meaning in one town and a different meaning in another county. These regional variations do not, however, affect the ultimate aim, which is to make common and repetitive sentences as speedy and unmistakable number triggers.
Response Modes and Emergency Signals
Whereas 10-codes deal with overall status, single-digit designations determine the urgency and manner in which an officer should respond physically. The following orders are the throttle of police movement:
- Code 1 — Respond at your convenience (non-urgent)
- Code 2 — In an emergency where the necessity to respond is urgent but does not require the use of lights or sirens
- Code 3 — Light and siren emergency response
- Code 4 — This situation is under control. No more help is required
- Code 5 — Refers to having a covert stakeout operation
Higher-level emergency signals provide immediate context for specialized threats. A “Code 10” notification indicates a possible bomb threat, while a “Code 904” notification alerts the dispatcher to a fire. These titles enable the quick mobilization of specialized teams, like the bomb squad or the fire department, without requiring them to take several seconds to explain details. During the most critical moments, the use of the term “Code 20” or the more serious “11-99,” which requests urgent assistance for an officer, immediately suspends all other radio communications.
Legal Shorthand of Penal Codes
Whereas response codes control the actions of an officer, penal codes determine whether the crime committed falls under a particular category. These numerical designations are in the form of direct equivalencies to the legal statutes that exist in a given state’s criminal code. They serve as a universal term for the crime offense.
If a dispatcher calls out a “211,” they are not defining a response mode but the legal definition of a robbery. This numerical precision allows every person on the frequency to understand the exact legal framework of the incident without needing a lengthy narrative description.
This dependence on the statutory numbers produces a gap between the court and the street. With codes such as “459” for burglary or “187” for homicide, officers can achieve a high level of legal accuracy from the very beginning of an investigation. This prior classification makes the reporting process more straightforward, as the initial radio call will be similar to the final paperwork and criminal proceedings initiated by the district attorney. Therefore, the application of penal codes transforms a disorganized scene into a categorized and legally defined situation.
Common Police Codes and Their Context
Sailing through a police scanner would demand a minimum level of understanding of the figures that establish the range of civic security. Through these codes, listeners and responding units can gain an instant understanding of the severity of an incident and the associated level of risk. They include:
- 187 — Homicide or murder, which is a capital crime that needs instant preservation of the crime scene
- 211 — Robbery, which is theft by the use of force or threat of force
- 415 — Fighting, which involves frequent fights, noisy parties, or open arguments
- 459 — Burglary, which is the unlawful entry into a building to commit a crime
- 5150 — Mental health hold, which is a welfare check due to a person who is potentially dangerous to themselves and others
- 925 — Suspicious vehicle, which is used when a car is in an unusual place, where it might be used to commit a crime
Being aware of these differences helps put day-to-day activities into perspective. For example, a 415 call is generally used for conflict resolution and peacekeeping, whereas a 211 call or a 187 call requires a high-priority tactical response. This numerical hierarchy ensures that resources are managed appropriately, with a social-service focus, as the high-stakes investigative needs of a capital crime take precedence over a 5150.
California Penal Code 211 (Robbery)
Not all theft cases are treated equally by the law. Although in casual conversation, you may use the terms ‘robbery,’ ‘theft,’ and ‘burglary’ interchangeably, they are all distinct legal concepts. To understand Penal Code 211, you need to examine the particular factors that make a mere theft a violent felony regarding what you do.
Under California Penal Code 211, robbery is defined as the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from their person or immediate presence, against their will, accomplished by means of force or fear.
A prosecutor has to be able to prove these five elements to convict you:
- Taking — You have stolen property that does not belong to you
- Possession — The property was under the possession of another
- Immediate presence — You have stolen it out of the personal presence of the victim, or the personal proximity of the victim
- Against will — The victim had not agreed to your taking it
- Force or fear — You applied physical violence or threats to take the property or stop the victim
The basic distinction between these two crimes is how you do the snatching of the property.
- Theft (larceny) — This is a stealth theft. When you lift a wallet from a backpack without the victim’s attention, you are guilty of theft. No confrontation occurred, and you did not use any force.
- Robbery — This is a confrontational crime. When you push the victim to the ground to take the same bag, then you have committed theft.
Robbery is essentially theft accompanied by the use of force or fear. Since this is a matter that poses a threat to human life, you will be accused of a felony, but theft can be a misdemeanor depending on the value of what you have stolen.
Unlike burglary, where you enter a structure to steal while the owner might be absent, robbery requires the victim to be physically present during the act. Immediate presence means the property was within the victim’s physical reach or control at the time it was taken.
If you break into a locked vehicle to steal property, you may commit auto burglary. However, if you take property directly from a person present, it becomes robbery.
If you forcibly take the keys when the owner is standing next to the car, then you have committed robbery, as you took them in their immediate presence.
Force vs. Fear (Real vs. Constructive Force)
Robbery does not require physical violence. Threats alone may satisfy the “force or fear” element. The law recognizes two methods of power:
- Actual Force
This is achieved through physical force, including hitting, pushing, grappling, or using a weapon, to enforce your will on the victim.
- Fear (Constructive Force)
In the law, your threat to use force is considered the same as force. This is what is referred to as constructive force. If you threaten a person by saying, “Give me your watch, or I will hurt you,” and they surrender it due to fear, constructive force satisfies the legal element of robbery.
The fear you instill can be for the victim’s own safety, the safety of their family, or even the safety of property present at the scene.
Distinction Between Robbery and Burglary
Robbery and burglary are both serious crimes, but the law differentiates between them based on the primary intention and location. Robbery (PC 211) is concerned with your conflict with an individual. It involves the use of force or fear on a present-at-scene victim.
Burglary (PC 459) focuses on your entry. Burglary is deemed to have occurred when you enter a building or a room aiming to steal or commit a felony in the building. Burglary may be proven because the building is not occupied, and you do not encounter any person.
Robbery requires taking property from a person by force or fear. Burglary requires unlawful entry with the intent to commit theft or a felony. The distinction can be the difference between you spending several months in county jail or several years in state prison.
First Degree vs. Second Degree Robbery
Robbery is not a one-size-fits-all charge. After satisfying the essential conditions of Penal Code 211, the law categorizes your actions according to the degrees, depending on the vulnerability of the victim or the location where the crime was committed. These degrees play a significant role in determining the length of time you may serve in prison.
First-Degree Robbery
First-degree robbery is the most serious classification. You will be charged with this degree if you commit a robbery that falls into one of these three specific categories:
- Residential robbery (home invasion) — In case you rob a victim within an occupied house, trailer, or the occupied section of any other building.
- ATM robbery — In the event of robbing a victim who has just exited an automated teller machine (ATM) and is still within the immediate vicinity of the machine.
- Transportation robbery — Take any money from the driver or another passenger of the taxi, the bus, the cable car, the streetcar, or any other ride-hailing vehicle.
The law considers such cases to be more hazardous since you are attacking victims in areas in which they have a grand illusion of security (their home) or are particularly vulnerable (as they handle cash at an ATM).
Second-Degree Robbery
The default is called second-degree robbery. When what you committed fails to fit the particular requirements of first-degree robbery, you will be indicted for second-degree robbery.
Common examples include:
- Street muggings — When you take the phone of someone in the street and pick it up
- Commercial robbery — In case you rob a convenience store, a liquor store, or a gas station
- Standard mugging — This is any robbery of an individual in a social location other than an ATM or a vehicle-for-hire
Depending on the extent of your charge, the degree of your charge determines the sentencing. It consists of the three possible terms of imprisonment (low, middle, or high term) that a judge may impose.
The first-degree sentencing ranges from 3 to 9 years, depending on special circumstances. If you commit this act “in concert” with two or more other people inside an inhabited dwelling, the penalties can be even more severe.
For second-degree robbery, you could face 2, 3, or 5 years. Although it is a serious strike felony offense, the minimum time served is a significant reduction from the first-degree charges.
Aggravating Factors (Improvements)
Outside of the severity of the robbery, your sentence may be drastically increased with enhancements that depend on the method of committing the offense:
- Use of a firearm — You must also serve an extra 10 years in a state prison if you personally use a gun in the robbery
- Discharging a firearm — If you fire that gun, 20 years are added to your sentence
- Great bodily injury — Causing great bodily injury adds 3 to 6 years under PC 12022.7
The location and condition of your victim are as crucial as the theft itself. If you rob a person on a park bench, you will face a second-degree charge (up to 5 years). However, if you follow that same person into their living room or wait for them to withdraw cash from an ATM, the charge is considered a first-degree offense. This shift in classification can nearly double your time behind bars before a judge even considers the weapons you used.
When Shoplifting Becomes a Felony
Most believe that by just strolling out of a shop with unpaid goods, they have only committed petty crimes (shoplifting). However, according to California case law (People v. Estes (1983)), your actions can instantly escalate into felony robbery (PC 211) depending on your reaction to being caught.
Consider the situation where you steal a pair of shoes in a department store. At this point, it is a simple theft. However, as you walk toward the exit, a loss prevention officer (also known as a security guard) stops you. Any form of pushing the guard, struggling to avoid them, or threatening them in a way that you can take the shoes is considered an Estes robbery.
In a typical robbery, you use force to take the property. In an Estes robbery, the law stipulates that it constitutes robbery even when force or fear is used to hold onto the property or to make away with it.
The moment you use physical force against security to keep the stolen items:
- Your petty theft, which is a misdemeanor, will be elevated to a felony robbery
- You will not only face a fine or probation, but also a strike on your record and years in state prison.
The law does not care if you were peaceful when you first took possession of the object. When you struggle to retain it, you use violence to complete the theft, and you will be charged with a full-blown robbery.
Common Defenses Against PC 211 Charges
California has a serious strike-level robbery charge. However, being charged with this offense does not necessarily mean conviction. To secure a conviction, the prosecution must demonstrate all aspects of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Those particular aspects will be addressed in your defense strategy, primarily the use of force, intent to steal, or your identity as the perpetrator. The defenses include the following:
- Claim of Right
The claim of right by itself is one of the strongest defenses against robbery. This would be applicable in case you had a bona fide belief that the property you took was truly yours.
Legally, you are not able to steal something that you genuinely believe belongs to you. When you use force to recover your own particular property, which was stolen by some person earlier, or money that you were owed, then you do not have the felonious intent that is necessary to commit robbery.
However, this defense does not work if you are trying to settle a debt from illegal activity, for example, a drug debt. The belief must be legitimate, based on good faith ownership.
- Mistaken Identity
Robberies are usually stressful events that often take place in low light or when the person committing the robbery is wearing a mask, and hence, the frequent problems associated with eyewitness reliability. Should the victim or a witness identify you in a lineup, your defense can be founded on cross-racial identification errors and the weapon focus effect. This is where the victims stare at the gun, not at your face.
Alternatively, your defense attorney could point to ineffective police lineup procedures that included suggestive procedures to cause you to stand out.
Find a Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
It is confusing to know all the legal terms and police codes, and a serious robbery charge, Code 211, is at stake. Familiarity with the terminology is not enough to navigate the complexity of the justice system, and it requires more than a dictionary.
You should never leave your future to chance or risk your rights by failing to understand the law. You need the help of an expert, whether you are the accused or seeking clarity for a loved one. If you or a loved one is facing a Penal Code 211 charge, it is critical to seek the assistance of an experienced Van Nuys criminal defense attorney. Contact Leah Legal at 818-484-1100 for a confidential consultation and legal representation.
