Criminal Damage

Question 1

What are the 6 offences under the criminal damage act?

Answer 1

1. Criminal damage S1(1)
2. Aggravated criminal damage S1(2)
3. Arson S1(1) and S1(3)
4. Aggravated arson S1(2) and S1(3)
5. S2 - Threats to property
6. S3 - Possession with intent to damage property

Question 2

What is the AR of criminal damage?

Answer 2

• Damage/destroy (case law)
• Property S10(2)
• BTA (S10(1)

Question 3

Sauel v Stubbs

Answer 3

• Give ordinary meaning generally

- Damage is a matter of fact and degree

Question 4

A v R

Answer 4

• No expense or effort necessary to deal with spit on uniform so not damage

Question 5

Hardman v Chief Constable

Answer 5

Expense and effort incurred in rectifying so therefore was damage

Question 6

Roe v Kingerlee

Answer 6

Mud on walls cost £7 to remove, this was criminal damage as required expense to rectify

Question 7

Morphitas v Salmon

Answer 7

Temporarily making something useless could be criminal damage

Question 8

R v Fiak

Answer 8

Flooding a cell constituted criminal damage as it made the cell temporarily useless

Question 9

R v Whitely

Answer 9

Property must be tanglible

Question 10

MR for basic criminal damage

Answer 10

• Intent (R v Maloney)

- Recklessness (R v G)

Question 11

R v G recklessness

Answer 11

• Subjectively aware of the risk

- Objectively unreasonable to take it

Question 12

R v Smith

Answer 12

Removed wiring he had installed from rented flat. This was not criminal damage as he was not aware this was not his property so he did not have the MR which requires subjective knowledge of risk (no perception of risk here as thought the property was his)

Question 13

R v Miller

Answer 13

Criminal damage by omission

Question 14

Lucena v Cranford

Answer 14

Where there is a mortgage on the property or it is insured then for a S5(2)(a) defence to work the belief in consent must apply to them too

Question 15

S5(2)(a)

Answer 15

Belief that the owner consented or would have consented had he known (subjective)

Question 16

Jaggard v Dickinson

Answer 16

• Broke a window in the drunken mistaken belief that the hose was his
• Was still a genuine belief so the S5(2)(a) defence operated

Question 17

R v Denton

Answer 17

A S5(2)(a) defence can operate despite the consent to damage being unlawful
- Can't be guilty of a crime of damaging your own property

Question 18

Blake v DPP

Answer 18

Gods consent is not consentq

Question 19

Lloyd v DPP

Answer 19

• Removal of wheel clamps in protecting property was not a S5(2)(b) defence as risk to property was not immediate enough

Question 20

S5(2)(b)

Answer 20

• Defence to criminal damage when argue that damage to proerty was necessary to protect your property

Question 21

Requirements for a S5(2)(b) defence

Answer 21

1. Immediacy (subjective)
2. Measures taken were reasonable to protect property (subjective)
3. Criminal damage caused in protecting property was objectively capable of protecting property

Question 22

S5(2)(b) is only available in defence of property…case?

Answer 22

R v Baker Willkins

Question 23

Johnson v DPP

Answer 23

Damage to property which other damage is preventing must be immediate

Question 24

S5(2)(b)(ii) - stating that the protection must be reasonable

Answer 24

1. This is based on the subjective belief of the defendant that the act could prevent damage
2. The act must have been objectively capable of protecting property

Question 25

R v Hunt

Answer 25

• Set fire to mattress to demonstrate inadequate fire alarms
• Measure was taken with the belief in the reasonableness of the action to prevent damage, but judged not to be capable of protecting property so the defence was rejected

Question 26

R v Hill and Hall

Answer 26

Sabotaged nuclear capability in belief that it was necessary to pprevent further harm. S5(2)(b) was not available as the damage was too remote

Question 27

S5(5)

Answer 27

States other lawful defences are allowed

Question 28

S1(2) aggravated criminal damage - added AR

Answer 28

Endangers life

Question 29

MR for aggravated criminal damage?

Answer 29

Intention or recklessness as to endangering life

Question 30

R v Sangha

Answer 30

No life actually need be endagered, just needs to be an intention or recklessness as to endangerment

Question 31

R v Steer

Answer 31

Danger to life must arise from damage caused not cause of damage
- Shot walls with gun

Question 32

R v Dudley

Answer 32

Threw fire bomb into house.
The damage here was posed by the fire, not by the bomb, so criminal damage was a possible offence here as danger to life arose from damage caused not cause of damage

Question 33

R v Webster

Answer 33

Threw a paving stone at a train. Criminal damage as there was danger from damage caused as well as cause of damage

Question 34

S5(1)

Answer 34

• States that s5(2) defences are not available for S1(2) offences

Question 35

R v Wenton

Answer 35

Broke window and threw in a petrol bomb

Bomb did not go off, however intended to endanger life so was an aggravated arson offence

Question 36

R v Buckingham

Answer 36

• s3 offence of possession with intent can be made out even where the intent is a ‘last resort’ (conditional)