Criminal Damage Flashcards
Describe the AR of simple criminal damage.
1) To destroy or damage;
2) property;
3) belonging to another;
4) without lawful excuse.
Explain the requirement of destroy or damage (for simple criminal damage).
- Includes physical harm (can be permanent or temporary);
- Destruction has its normal meaning (eg would cover demolition of a building or burning a field of crops for example).
- Damage is usually deemed to have occurred if expense is incurred in order to rectify the consequences of D’s act.
Would spitting on a PC’s jacket count as damage (for the purposes of AR of criminal damage)?
No. It could be wiped off and therefore does not require expense to rectify.
Is drawing on a pavement using soluble chalk damage (for the purposes of criminal damage)?
Yes as this would require expenditure by the council (or whoever owned the land) to rectify.
Give an example of real property.
Land and buildings.
Define property for the purposes of the AR of criminal damage.
- This is defined in s101(1) CDA 1971.
- Only tangible property is covered.
- Includes both real and personal property.
- Animals are also included provided they are:
1) Tamed or ordinarily kept in captivity (ie pets and zoo animals); or
2) If they have been, or are being reduced into possession (eg a rabbit that has been snared). - Plants growing in a local authority park or someones garden would count, but will mushrooms and plants cannot be considered property.
Give an example of personal property.
Money.
Explain the ‘belonging to another’ requirement of the AR of simple criminal damage.
- Effectively means anything belonging to someone else (ie that someone else has legal title to), such as a house or a car.
- It also includes property which the victim has:
1) custody or control over;
2) a proprietary right or interest in; or
3) a charge over.
Give the MR of simple criminal damage.
1) Intention or recklessness as to the destruction or damage of property belonging to another; and
2) Knowledge or belief that property belonged to another.
How is recklessness determined in relation to criminal damage?
Whether D foresaw a risk of criminal damage and still took that risk.
Explain the belief in consent defence to simple criminal damage
D will not be guilty if they had an honest believe the person who owned the property (or the person entitled to give such consent) had consented or would have consented if they had known of the circumstances. This is a subjective test.
What are the two defences to criminal damage (ie the two instances where there is a lawful excuse)?
1) Belief in consent; and
2) Protection of property.
Do the lawful excuse offences apply to aggravated criminal damage?
No.
Explain the decision in Jaggard v Dickinson (intoxicated person breaking into a house).
Person broke into friend’s house because they could not get in. It wad actually the wrong house but they made the mistake due to being intoxicated.
It was clear the person breaking into the house thought it was their friends house and all had honest belief their friend would have consented to them doing so.
D was found to be able to relay on the belief in consent defence despite being intoxicated.
Summarise the need of protection defence to simple criminal damage.
D would have to argue they believed the property was in immediate need of protection and that the means they adopted were reasonable in the circumstances.
This is broken down into 3 requirements:
1) Was D’s purpose the protection of property;
2) Was the property actually in immediate need of protection; and
3) Was it reasonable to carry out the damage/ destruction.
