However, this level of fear or force doesn't necessarily have to be great in order to meet the statutory threshold. Since robbery and armed robbery differ slightly, the essential elements for armed robbery include those of robbery though the use of a deadly weapon is included to take immediate control of the victim. On the other hand, the essential elements of carjacking are hijacking for the purpose of stealing a motor vehicle and armed assault on the vehicle's occupants.
In armed robbery offences, the main weapons that will suffice are deadly weapons which are either loaded or unloaded firearms. Notably, the weapons that can suffice in armed robbery offence are other weapons that can cause great bodily harm or death of the victim such as daggers, slingshots, sword canes, bludgeons, and sharp pointed canes ("Criminal Law," n.d.).
The mens rea for committing a robbery is theft of a valuable item from another person of from the person's immediate control. For example, Peter locked a jailer into cell and took money from the money bag in a drawer...
This is robbery because the jailer was in immediate control of the money bag before being forcibly locked into the cell. The mens rea for armed robbery is the use of a deadly weapon to take a valuable item from an individual's immediate control. For instance, a man pointed a gun at a woman's head and demanded for money forcing the woman to quickly comply with his demand. In carjacking offence, the mens rea can either be seizure of the vehicle or abduction of the vehicle's occupants. For instance, three people hijacked a vehicle, abducted its occupants and later demanded for a hefty ransom from the occupants' family in order to release them.
