Criminal Damage/Fraud Flashcards
Criminal damage
o ‘A person who without lawful excuse damages or destroys any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.’
Breakdown of criminal damage
Actus reus
- destroy or damage
- property
- belonging to another
- without lawful excuse
Mens rea
- intention or recklessness as to the destruction or damage of property belonging to another
‘belonging to another’ - any person
* Any person:
o Having custody or control of it.
o Having in it any proprietary right or interest (not being an equitable interest arising only from an agreement to transfer or grant an interest), or
o Having a charge on it.
Mens rea and criminal damage
Intention given ordinary meaning
- R v G:
o The House of Lords stated that to convict a person of reckless criminal damage the prosecution must prove that:
At the time of committing the actus reus, the accused was subjectively aware of a risk, and
In the circumstances known to the accused, it was objectively unreasonable for the accused to take that risk. - MR extends to whole of AR- insufficient that D does an act that damages property intentionally, what must also be proved is that D knew, or was reckless as to whether the property belongs to another.
- If individual believes property to be his own, he lacked MR at time of act.
Basic arson
Actus reus
- destroy or damage by fire
- property
- belonging to another
- without lawful excuse
Mens rea
- intention or recklessness as to the destruction
- can have general defences
- could be that
D believes that owner would have consented to the damage
D acts to protect their or another’s property
Aggravated criminal damage/arson
o ‘A person who without lawful excuse destroys of damages any property, whether belonging to himself or another—
* (a) intending to destroy or damage any property or being reckless as whether any property would be destroyed or damaged; and
* (b) intending by the destruction or damage to endanger life of another or being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered;
o shall be guilty of an offence.’
Actus reus
- destroy or damage (by fire)
- property
Mens rea
- intention or recklessness as to the destruction or damage of property (by fire)
- intention or recklessness as to the endangerment of life by the damage or destruction (by fire)
- can commit it to own property
Theft
‘a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it…’
ACTUS REUS OF THEFT
* APPROPRIATION
* PROPERTY
* BELONGING TO ANOTHER
MENS REA OF THEFT
* DISHONESTY
* WITH THE INTENTION TO PERMANENTLY DEPRIVE
Test for dishonesty in theft
- Ivey v Genting Casinos:
1. What was the defendant’s knowledge and belief as to the facts?
2. Given that knowledge and those beliefs, was the defendant dishonest by the standard of ordinary decent people?
Robbery
- (1) 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.’
- (2) A person guilty of robbery, or of an assault with intent to rob, shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for life.’
ACTUS REUS OF ROBBERY
* ACTUS REUS OF THEFT (APPROPRIATION OF PROPERTY BELONGING TO ANOTHER)
* FORCE- ONE OF:
o USES FORCE
o PUTS ANY PERSON IN FEAR
o SEEKS TO PUT ANY PERSON IN FEAR OF BEING THEN AND THERE SUBJECT TO FORCE (force does not require violence)
* ON ANY PERSON
* USE OR THREAT OF FORCE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE OR AT THE TIME OF STEALING
MENS REA OF ROBBERY
* MENS REA OF THEFT (DISHONESTY WITH THE INTENTION TO PERMANENTLY DEPRIVE)
* INTEND TO USE FORCE TO STEAL
Burglary
- (1) A person is guilty of burglary if-
o (a) he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and with intent to commit any such offence as is mentioned in subsection (2) below, or
o (b) having entered any building or part of a building as a trespasser he steals or attempts to steal anything in the building or that part of it or inflicts or attempts to inflict on any person therein any GBH. - (2) The offences referred to in subsection (1)(a) above are offences of stealing anything in the building or part of a building in question, of inflicting on any person therein any GBH…therein, and of doing unlawful damage to the building or anything therein.
When is s9(1)(a) burglary offence committed?
- Burglary is committed upon entry, provided this is done as a trespasser and accompanied by the intention to commit the ulterior offence.
- No need for D to actually commit the ulterior offence-key issue is whether D intended to commit the ulterior offence at the point of entry.
Aggravated burglary
- (1) ‘A person is guilty of aggravated burglary if he commits any burglary and at the time has with him any firearm or imitation firearm, any weapon of offence, or any explosive; and for this purpose –
o (a) ‘firearm’ includes an airgun or airpistol, and ‘imitation firearm’ means anything which has the appearance of being a firearm, whether capable of being discharged or not; and
o (b) ‘weapon of offence’ means any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use; and
o (c) ‘explosive’ means any article manufactured for the purpose of producing a practical effect by explosion, or intended by the person having it with him for that purpose. - (2) A person guilty of aggravated burglary shall on conviction on indictment be liable
- to imprisonment for life.’
Fraud
- FA 2006
3 different ways braid can be committed:
* fraud by false representation - s2
* fraud by failure to disclose - s3
* fraud by abuse of position - s4
fraud by false representation
- A person is in breach of this section if he -
a. Dishonestly makes a false representation, and
b. Intends, by making the representation -
i. To make a gain for himself or another, or
ii. To cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
What are the 3 aspects to fraud by false representation?
- Express or implied representation.
- Representation as to fact, law or state of mind.
- Representation untrue or misleading.
fraud by failure to disclose
‘A person is in breach of this section if he—
o (a) dishonestly fails to disclose to another person information which he is under a legal duty to disclose, and
o (b) intends, by failing to disclose the information—
* (i) to make a gain for himself or another, or
* (ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.’
