OFFENCES UNDER THE THEFT ACT

Question 1

THEFTACT OF 1968
Under section 1 of the Theft Act of 1968, theft involves

Answer 1

*Dishonest
*Appropriation
*Of property
*Belonging to another
*With the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.

Question 2

Actus Reus
Theft

Answer 2

a.Appropriation
b. property
c. belonging to another

Question 3

Appropriation

Answer 3

1. Appropriation is any assumption of the rights of the owner;
   EXAMPLES
   1) D switches labels on goods in a shop so that expensive goods have labels of cheaper items on them. They then go to the checkout to pay for the goods at a lower price. This is appropriation because only the shop had the right to change the price on the items.
2. the defendant need not assume all the rights of the owner to satisfy this requirement.
3. Appropriation can be an ongo-
   ing or repeated action;
4. it can be important to establish later appropriation in order to establish the coincidence of all the elements of the ofence at the same time.
   Example
   D fnds a bracelet in the street and picks it up. At this stage, D lacks dishonest intent, so the ofence is not made out. Later, D decides to keep the bracelet. Here there is a
   later appropriation, at which point all the elements of actus reus and mens rea coincide.

Question 4

Property

Answer 4

Property includes money and all other property, including
intangible property (such as copyrights and electronic trans-
fers), real property (relating to land), and personal property.

Question 5

Belonging to Another

Answer 5

A person taking property belonging to another can include
a partner stealing from co-partners, a director stealing from
their company, and an owner taking an item that was left ‘on
trust’ with another for services rendered. Property will rarely be considered to be abandoned, even after it has been lost or thrown away.

EXAMPLE
A person takes their car back from a garage without the ga-
rage’s permission and without paying for the repairs. This can be theft by taking from someone with possession or control.

Question 6

Mens Rea
Theft

Answer 6

A defendant must be dishonest and must** intend **to permanently deprive the victim of the property. If the defendant intends only to borrow the item and then return it, they will not be guilty of theft.

Question 7

Intent Determined at Time ofTaking

Answer 7

It is the defendant’s intention at the time of the appropriation that is important. Therefore, if someone takes an item intend-
ing to keep it but then changes their mind, that is sufcient
for theft. Furthermore, if the defendant gambles with the
victim’s property or removes value from the property, that will be sufcient for theft.

Question 8

Dishonesty

Answer 8

To decide whether a defendant is dishonest, the court must
ascertain the defendant’s knowledge as to the facts and ask
itself whether the defendant’s behaviour was dishone**st by
the objective standards of reasonable and honest people.
There are three situations in which a defendant is deemed
not to be dishonest, namely if the defendant believes:

Question 9

ROBBERY UNDER THEFTACT 1968 S8

Answer 9

A defendant is guilty of robbery if they commit theft and, immediately before or at the same time, they use** force on any person or put any person in fear** of then-and-there being subjected to force in order to steal.

Question 10

actus reus
Robbery

Answer 10

There must be a ‘theft’ as part of the robbery. If there is no included theft, there is no robbery. You need to consider all the elements of the offence of theft as a part of assessing whether a robbery has been committed.
a.Force
The force element can be satisfed through: (1) infiction of force, (2) causing an apprehension of force, or (3) seeking to cause an apprehension of force.**
EXAMPLE
D uses a fake gun to threaten V and takes V’s property. Even if V knows that the gun is fake, D is guilty of robbery because D has sought to cause V to apprehend force.

b.Before or at Time of Offence and in Order to Steal
Force must be used or threatened b**efore or at the time of the offence and must be used in order to steal. It cannot be used afterwards.

Question 11

Mens Rea
Robbery

Answer 11

The mental element for robbery is the same as that for theft. The defendant must also** intend to use force** in order to steal.

Question 12

BURGLARY UNDER THEFTACT 1968 S9
Typrd of Burglary

Answer 12

There are two ways to commit burglary: burglary by trespass with intent under s9(1)(a) and burglary** by offences** committed following a trespassory entry under s9(1)(b).

Question 13

Entry
Burglary

Answer 13

For both types of burglary, the defendant must have (1) know-ingly or recklessly (2) entered a building or a part of a build-
ing (3) as a trespasser (4) with any part of their body.

a.Building or Part of Building
A building or part of a building requires a structure with some degree of permanence. The trespass can arise from a tempo-rary restriction or a restriction that applies to only a part of a
building.

Question 14

Burglary byTrespass with Intent

Answer 14

For burglary by trespass with intent under s9(1)(a), the de-
fendant must enter the building with the** intent to** (1) steal
anything in the building, (2) infict grievous bodily harm on anyone in the building, or (3) cause criminal damage to the building or anything inside the building. Note that it does not matter whether the defendant actually stole, inficted harm, and so on, after entering; the crime is committed if there is
intention to do so at the time of entry.

Question 15

Burglary by Offence Following Trespassory Entry

Answer 15

the prosecution need not prove the defendant** trespassed with the intention to steal, infict great bodily harm, or cause criminal damage,** but merely that** after entering the buildin**g, the defendant actually stole or attempt-ed to steal something from the building, or inficted grievous bodily harm, or attempted to infict grievous bodily harm, on any person within the building. Note that criminal damage is not an underlying ofence for burglary under s9(1)(b).

Question 16

Timing of Burglary

Answer 16

Note that burglary by trespass with intent is committed at the time of the entry, whilst burglary following trespassory entry
is committed at the time of the underlying ofence.

Question 17

Mens Rea
Burglary

Answer 17

For both types of burglary, the defendant must know they are a trespasser. For s9(1)(a), the defendant must also intend to
commit the relevant underlying offence at the point of entry.
For s9(1)(b), the defendant must also have the mens rea of the underlying offence.

Question 18

AGGRAVATED BURGLARY UNDER
THEFTACT 1968 S10

Answer 18

A defendant can be convicted of aggravated burglary if, while committing a burglary, they have with them:
*A frearm or imitation frearm (including an airgun);
*A weapon of offence (any article made or adapted to cause injury or intended by the defendant to be used as such); or
*An explosive (any article manufactured to create an explosion or intended by the defendant to explode).

Note that for s9(1)(a), this means the item must be in the defendant’s possession at the time of entry to the building, whereas for s9(1)(b), this means the item must be in the defendant’s possession at the time of the commission of the underlying offence.

Question 19

Summary of Theft Offence

Answer 19