criminal damage

Question 1

S1 criminal damage act 1971

Answer 1

A person, who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.”

Question 2

AR

Answer 2

• Committed when the D damages property which belongs to another

Question 3

Damages

Answer 3

• Undefined, but it’s usual meaning is used
• Damage requires property to be unusable or involves some physical interference which reduces value or costs money to repair

Question 4

Undermining usability

Answer 4

• This hasn’t been something that the courts have been able to define succinctly
• Drake v DPP [1994] it was held that clamping a car was not undermining usability as the integrity of the car remained
• In Fiak [2005] where D stuffed and flooded the toilet in his prison cell, did equal damage due to the fact the blankets and cell were (temporarily) unusable

Question 5

Reduction in value

Answer 5

• Used to be more commonly used, especially in areas such as cars – eg, scratching or damaging a cars paint or bodywork would reduce the value
• This has not been used as much to define damages in recent years

Question 6

Cost of repair

Answer 6

• Seemingly replaced reduction in value but an issue has appeared with what type of repair is possible
• In A (Juvenile) [1978] spitting on a policeman’s jacket did not constitute damage as it could be wiped off
• In Samuels v Stubbs [1972] the D jumped on a policeman’s hat, which could have been restored - damage was found

Question 7

Property

Answer 7

• Remains similar to the property defined in Theft, with three key differences:
• Land cannot normally be a subject of theft but can be criminally damaged
• Intangible property (bank account, credit etc) can be stolen but cannot be damaged
• Wild plants can be theft if done with commercial intent, but cannot be criminally damaged

Question 8

Belonging to another

Answer 8

• It is not an offence to damage your own property
• Belonging = having custody or control, a property right or interest in or having a charge on it
• If it shared, D can still be charged with damaging it

Question 9

MR

Answer 9

• There are two elements to MR
• That the D intended or was reckless as to causing damage and
• D must have intended or known or been reckless to the fact that the property belonged to another

Question 10

Smith [1974]

Answer 10

• At the end of his tenancy, D removed some wiring he had installed which caused £130 worth of damage
• Under civil law, following installation – the wiring belonged to the landlord which D was unaware of and believed it belonged to him
• Charged with CD, allowed appeal as he did not satisfy MR as he did not know, nor foresee that the wiring did not belong to him

Question 11

Arson

Answer 11

• Defined under S1(3) Criminal Damage Act 1971
• ## All elements of CD must be satisfied as well as establishing that the damage was caused by fire and that D intended or was reckless to causing the damage by fire