Handling Stolen Goods

Question 1

Handling Stolen Goods Offence

Answer 1

s22 Theft Act 1968

(1) A person handles stolen goods if (otherwise than in the course of the stealing) knowing or believing them to be stolen goods he dishonestly…
- Receives the goods, or
- Dishonestly undertakes or assists in their retention, removal, disposal or realisation by or for the benefit of another person, or
- Arranges to do so.

Penalty:

• Summarily– 6 months and/ or fine.
• Indictment– 14 years

Question 2

What are ‘goods’?

Answer 2

s34(2)(b) Theft Act 1968

…includes money and every other description of property except land, and includes things severed from the land by stealing.

Question 3

What are ‘notionally stolen goods’?

Answer 3

Stolen goods which include any gain or return from the disposal of the original stolen items, such as money or other items which have been received in exchange (s 24(2) of the Theft Act 1968).

Question 4

What are ‘stolen goods’?

Answer 4

s24A Theft Act 1968

(8) Money which is dishonestly withdrawn from an account to which a wrongful credit has been made, but only to the extent that the money derives from the credit.

Question 5

When do stolen goods cease to be stolen?

Answer 5

s24(3) Theft Act 1968

When have been restored to the person from whom they were stolen or to other lawful possession or custody, or after that person and any other person claiming through him have otherwise ceased as regards those goods to have any right to restitution in respect of the theft.

Question 6

Handing

What is the required Mens Rea?

Answer 6

The defendant must KNOW or BELIEVE the goods to be stolen. Suspicion is not enough.

Turning a blind eye to the facts ‘can be capable, depending on the circumstances, of providing evidence going to prove knowledge or belief’.

Question 7

Handing

What is the required Actus Reus?

Answer 7

• Receiving/ arranging to receive stolen goods (or things in action e.g checks), in which case the defendant acts for his/her own benefit; and
• Assisting/ acting for the benefit of another person (e.g misleading police), in which case that assistance to another, or benefit to another must be proved.

Question 8

Power to Search for Stolen Goods

Answer 8

s26 Theft Act 1968

(1) …reasonable cause to believe that any person has in his custody or possession or on his premises any stolen goods, the justice may grant a warrant to search for and seize…
(3) …may enter and search the premises accordingly, and may seize any goods he believes to be stolen goods.

Question 9

After the original theft there is often a whole chain of events, and each of the handlers in the process commits the offence of handing stolen goods.

This only occurs in what circumstance?

Answer 9

If each has guilty knowledge (mens rea) that the goods were originally acquired by theft.

The chain will only be broken when a person receiving the goods is unaware of their origins.

Question 10

What does s27 of the Theft Act 1968 allow for?

Answer 10

The admissibility of previous misconduct at any stage of the proceedings.

Allows for evidence to be admitted proving that goods in the course of transmission have been stolen.

Question 11

“Otherwise than in the course of stealing” meaning…

Answer 11

• The handling must be at a time after the act of theft has been completed.
• Someone who has actively been involved int he theft cannot handle the property.

Question 12

“Knowing or believing goods to be stolen”…

Answer 12

• Mere suspicion is not enough, must be knowing or believing.
• They can be reckless as to whether they were stolen, e.g. if the price someone is paying for an item, is so ridiculously low and for cash, the person should have known it was stolen.

Question 13

“Receives, or arranges to receive”…

Answer 13

You do not need to have physical possession of the goods.

Question 14

“Retention/ Disposal/ Realisatiion”…

Answer 14

Retention: keeping possession of the goods.

Disposing: getting rid of the stolen goods.

Realisation: converting the stolen goods into a different form (e.g swapping for legitimate items).

Question 15

Question: Nick buys a digital camera from a car boot sale. He plugs it into his computer and sees that there are some holiday photos on it. He looks closely and recognises a work colleague from the photos.

Nick is aware that his colleague reported his bag stolen from his car a few weeks before, including a digital camera being stolen. Nick believes this is the stolen camera but deletes the photos anyway and starts using it.

Has Nick committed the offence of handling stolen goods?

Answer 15

• Yes, he has.
• Nick realises that he has bought his work colleagues stolen camera.
• He commits the offence of handling when he decides to keep it for himself, demonstrated by deleting the colleagues holiday photos.

Question 16

Question: Tracy and Mary go out shoplifting. Tracy goes into the shop to steal some vodka. Mary flirts with the security guard to allow this to happen. Tracy steals four bottles of vodka and once outside hands two of the bottles to Mary.

Has Mary committed the offence of handling stolen goods?

Answer 16

• No, she has not.
• Mary was complicit in the crime through flirting with the security guard, therefore allowing Tracy the opportunity to steal.
• She was involved in ‘the course of stealing’.

Question 17

Question: John buys a stereo for £50 from Gary in their local pub. He knows Gary is known as a bit ‘dodgy’ but is unsure if it is stolen. He suspects it is but Gary says that it was his sons and he doesn’t want it anymore. The stereo would be £125 new.

Has John committed the offence of handling stolen goods?

Answer 17

• No, he has not.

- Mere suspicion is not enough, must be ‘knowing or believing.’

Question 18

Question: Mustafa thinks of himself as a gangster. Tony calls Mustafa and says that he has just stolen two antique guns and needs to sell them. Mustafa tells him to take them to his pawn shop where he will be paid £1000 for them. Tony does this.

Has Tony committed the offence of handling stolen goods?

Has Mustafa committed the offence of handling stolen goods?

Answer 18

• Tony has not as he was involved in the actual theft of the guns.
• Mustafa has because he has received the goods at his pawnshop and knows that they were stolen.
• Don’t need to physically handle the stolen property.