Arson Flashcards
Arson Section 267(1)(a) - Act, section, elements
- Intentionally or Recklessly
- Damages by fire or damages by means of any explosive
- Any property
- If he or she knows or ought to know that danger to life is likely to ensue.
Arson Section 267(1)(b) - Act, section, elements
- Intentionally or Recklessly
- Without claim of right
- Damages by fire or damages by means of any explosive
- Any immovable property or vehicle or ship or aircraft
- In which that person has no interest
Arson Section 267(1)(c) - Act, section, elements
- Intentionally
- Damages by fire or damages by means of any explosive
- Any immovable property or vehicle or ship or aircraft
- With intent
- To obtain any benefit or cause loss to any other person.
Cameron v R
Recklessness is established if:
a. The defendant recognised that there was a real possibility that:
i. his or her actions would bring about the prescribed result
ii. The proscribed circumstances existed and
b. Having regard to that risk, those actions were unreasonable.
Define damages by fire
Burning, charring or smoke damage, also includes heat damage, melting and oxidation.
R v Archer
Property damage may be temporary or permanent physical harm and includes impairment of its use or value.
Define Knows or Ought to know
Two part test:
- What was the defendant thinking at the time? Did they know human life was likely to be endangered by their actions?
- What would a reasonable person have thought in the circumstances.
Knows - Simester and Brookbanks
Knowing means, “knowing or correctly believing” The defendant may believe something wrongly but cannot “know” something is false.
Define Immovable property
Property will be considered “immovable” if it is currently fixed in place, unable to be moved, even though it may be possible to make it movable
Define Property
Property (s2 CA 1961) - Real and personal property, and any estate or interest in real or personal property – S2 CA61.
Define Explosive
Substance or mixture capable of decomposition at a rapid rate that results in an explosion or pyrolitic effect.
It does not include any firewood as defined in section 2 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.
Define Vehicle
Vehicle means, a contrivance equipped with wheels, tracks, or revolving runners on which it moves or is moved - LTA98
Define Benefit
Benefit means, receiving any benefit, privilege, pecuniary advantage, property, service or valuable consideration.
Define Loss
Financial detriment to the victim
Define Fire
Fire is the process of combustion, a chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen, triggered by heat. For a fire to start all three must be present in the correct proportions.
Arson Section 267(2)(a) - Act, section, elements
- Intentionally or Recklessly
- Without Claim of Right
- damages by fire or by means of any explosive
- any property in which that person has no interest (other than property referred to in subsection(1))
Arson Section 267(2)(b) - Act, section, elements
- Intentionally or Recklessly
- Damages by fire or by means of any explosive
- Any property (other than property referred to in subsection(1)
- with intent to obtain any benefit or with intent to cause loss to any other person
Define Intent
Deliberate act or omissions with intent to get a specific result, must be more than involuntary or accidental.
R v Collister
Circumstantial evidence from which an offender’s intent may be inferred can include;
- their words and actions, before, during and after the event.
- The surrounding circumstances.
- The nature of the act itself.
Define Recklessly
Consciously and deliberately taking an unjustified risk.
Cameron v R
Recklessness is established if:
(a) the defendant recognised that there was a real possibility that:
(i) his or her action would bring about the proscribed result; and/or
(ii) that the proscribed circumstances existed; and
(b) having regard to that risk those actions were unreasonable.
R v Tipple
Reckless requires the offender know of, or have a conscious appreciation of the relevant risk, and it may be said that it requires “a deliberate decision to run the risk”.
Proving Recklessness (Objective / Subjective test)
Subjective - The defendant consciously and deliberately ran a risk.
Objective - That the risk was one that was unreasonable to take in the circumstances as they were known to the defendant (based on whether a reasonable person would have taken the risk).
R v Morley
Loss is assessed by the extent to which the complainant’s position is impaired or diminished by the offending.
Define Danger to life. Subjective / objective test.
Life in this context means human life and the danger must be to someone other than the defendant.
Subjective Test: What was the defendant thinking at the time? did the defendant know human life was likely to be endangered?
Objective test: Would a reasonable person have thought in the circumstances? Would a reasonable person have recognised the risk?
Define claim of right
A belief that at the time of the act, the offender either had a proprietary or possessory right to the property in question although it may be based on ignorance of law or fact
Claim of right - Nature of belief required
- There must be a belief in proprietary or possessory right in property.
- The belief must be about the rights of property in relation to which the offence has been committed.
- The belief must be held at the time of the offence.
Define Ship
Ship means any vessel used in navigation, however propelled.
Wider definition of “person”
Person, owner, and other words similar words include the crown, public body companies etc.
eg. An offender who sets fire to a Police car has caused loss to the Police organisation which is a “person” under the wider definition. Relates to 267(1)(c) causes loss to any person.
Attempted Arson Section 268 CA1961 - Act, Section, Elements, Term of Imprisonment
Attempted Arson Section 268 CA1961 - 7 years imprisonment.
- A person
- Attempts to
- commit arson
- in respect of any immovable property or any vehicle, ship, aircraft
Define Attempts
Section 71 CA1961
Any act or omission, beyond mare preparation, with intent to commit an offence. Must be sufficiently proximate to the intended offence.
R v Harpur x2
An attempt includes an act or omission constituting a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in the commission of the crime.
The court may have regard to the conduct viewed cumulatively up to the point when the conduct in question stops. Considering how much remains to be done is always relevant, thought not determinative.
Define Sufficently Proximate in relation to attempts
The offenders’ actions must be sufficiently proximate to the offense. The defendant must have gone beyond mare preparation and taken a real and practical step towards the actual commission of the crime.
Examples of acts that may constitute an attempt:
- Lying in waitm searching for or following the contemplated victim.
- enticing the victim to go to the scene of the contemplated crime
- Unlawful entry of a structure, vehicle or enclosure in which it is contemplated that the offense will be committed
- Possession, collection or fabrication of materials to be employed in the commission of the offence
- Soliciting an innocent agent to engage in conduct constituting an element of the offence
Intentional Damage (1) - Act, Section, Element, Term of Imprisonment
Intentional Damage - Section 269(1) CA1961 - 10 Years imprisonment
- A person
- Intentionally or Recklessly
- Destroys or Damages
- Any property
- He or She knows or Ought to know that danger to life is likely to result
Intentional Damage (2) (a) & (b) - Act, Section, Element, Term of Imprisonment
Intentional Damage - Section 269(2) CA1961 - 7 Years imprisonment
- A person
- Intentionally or Recklessly
- Without Claim of Right
- Destroys or Damages
- Any Property
(a) in which that person has no interest; or
(b) with intent to obtain any benefit, or with intent to cause loss to any other person