R v Alun Roy Northcott

Where a bladed article is used to commit a robbery, and its production has already materially increased culpability for the robbery, a separate consecutive sentence for possessing the article ordinarily counts the same criminality twice. The bladed-article sentence should instead be concurrent where the court has already taken the knife into account in sentencing the robbery.

The appellant pleaded guilty in the Crown Court at Cardiff to robbery and possessing an article with a blade or point, contrary to section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. He received an extended sentence for the robbery and a consecutive sentence of 16 months for the bladed-article offence. The appeal, brought with leave, challenged only the consecutive structure of the sentences. The central issue was whether the knife had already been taken into account in assessing culpability for the robbery.

1. Appeal allowed. The appellant had used a knife to cut the strap of the victim’s bag during a robbery committed in the presence of two very young children. The sentencing judge placed the robbery in the appropriate category and treated the production of the bladed article as a significant factor increasing culpability.
2. The same feature could not properly be counted again by imposing a consecutive sentence for the separate bladed-article offence. Once the production of the knife had materially contributed to the sentence for the robbery, a consecutive sentence for possession of the knife duplicated the same criminality.
3. The Court therefore quashed the consecutive sentence of 16 months and imposed a sentence of the same length concurrently. The resulting sentence remained an extended determinate sentence of 8 years and 6 months, consisting of a custodial term of 5 years and 6 months and an extension period of 3 years.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): the appeal against sentence was allowed. The consecutive 16-month sentence was quashed and made concurrent.
• Crown Court at Cardiff: on 31 January 2025, an extended sentence of 8 years and 6 months was imposed for robbery, with a consecutive 16-month sentence for the bladed-article offence.