6: Property offences Flashcards
two property offences
- theft
- robbery
what is theft charged under
s1 Theft Act 1968
define theft
“the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it”
actus reus for theft
include sections
- appropriation (s3)
- property (s4)
- belonging to another (s5)
explain ‘appropriation’
“any assumption of the rights of the owner”
D doesn’t have to assume all of the rights of the owner (Morris)
- Pitham & Hehl: assuming the right to sell = appropriation
- Corcoran v Anderton: forcibly tugging on a handbag
- Lawrence, Gomez: appropriation can occur with the consent of the owner (deception involved)
- Hinks: appropriation can occur with the consent of the owner even if there is no deception
can be appropriation where D acquired property lawfully but then decides to keep it
explain ‘property’
can be almost anything but includes
- money
- real property (lands&buildings)
- s4(2): land can only be stolen in limited circumstances
- personal property
- Kelly & Lindsay: can include dead bodies and body parts if they had acquired “different attributes by virtue of the application of skill”
- things in action (eg. bank account, cheque, copyright)
- other intangible property (eg. a patent)
- Oxford v Moss: confidential information is not property
property that can’t be stolen:
s4(3): picking from the wild (unless done for reward or sale)
s4(4): wild creatures not ordinarily kept in captivity or untamed
explain ‘belonging to another’
wide definition but includes
- possession or control of property (Rostron)
- doesn’t have to be lawful (Turner)
- any proprietary interest
a person can be in control of property even though he doesn’t know he possesses it (Woodman)
items still belong to the donor until possession of goods has been taken (Rickets v Basildon)
refuse remains the propert of the homeowner until it is collected and taken to the tip, it is not abandoned (Williams v Phillips)
- s5(3): where property has been given to be dealt with in a particular way and that isn’t done, there can be theft
- when money or cheques are given for a particular purpose, there is a legal obligation to use the proceeds for that purpose (Davidge v Bunnett, Hall, Klineberg v Marsden)
s5(4): where you are given something by mistake and have a legal obligation to give it back, AG’s Ref (No1 of 1983)
MR for theft
include sections
- dishonesty (s2)
- intention to permanently deprive (s6)
explain ‘dishonesty’
dishonesty is not defined but, s2(1) lists situations that would not be classed as dishonest; if D appropriates property in the belief that:
(a) he has a right in law to deprive the other of it, on behalf of himself of a third person
(b) he woukd have the others consent if they knew of the appropriation and the circumstances of it
(c) the person to whom the property belongs can’t be discovered by taking reasonable steps
Small: Ds belief doesn’t have to be correct of reasonable, just genuine
when these don’t apply the courts will use the Ivey/Barton test of dishonesty:
(1) Ds actual knowledge or belief as to the facts must be established (subiective)
(2) In the light of Ds actual knowledge or beliefs as to the facts, the test then to be applied is whether or not add conduct was dishonest by the standard of ordinary decent people
explain ‘intention to permanently deprive’
D treats the property as his own to dispose of regardless of the others rights’
• Lavender: the disposal of property included dealing with property
• Velumyl: can be ITPD even if D intents to pay back money he has taken
• D destroys property belonging to another
• Raphael & Another: Offering to sell Vs property back to him is treating it as his own SO ITPD
Borrowing is not theft unless it is for a period and in circumstances making it equivalent to an outright taking or disposal
- Lloyd: ITPD if ‘the goodness, the virtue and the practical value has gone out of the article
conditional intent to steal could result in a charge of attempted theft (Easom, AG’s Ref No1&2 of 1979)
what is robbery charged under
s8 Theft Act 1968
define robbery
‘a person is guilty of robbery if he steals, and immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, he uses force on any person or puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being then and there subjected to force’
AR for robbery
- theft
- force or putting or seeking to put any person in fear of force
- must be immediately before or at the time of the theft
- must be in order to steal
explain ‘completed theft’
all the elements of theft must be present (Robinson)
where force is used, once the theft is complete there is robbery (Corcoran v Anderton)
explain ‘force or threat of force’
it’s for the jury to decide whether Ds actions amounted to force
even a small amount of force will be sufficient
- eg, pushing (Dawson & James)
- eg, wrenching a shopping bag for Vs hand (Clouden)
- force doesn’t have to be applied; it is enough if D puts of seeks to put av in fear of force (eg, threatening words or gestures)
- V does not actually have to fear (B & R v DPP)
- an implied threat of force can also be sufficient (eg surrounding V)
- the threat doesn’t have to be real (Bentham)
- the person threatened does not have to be the person from whom the theft occurs
