Preventive Offences - Theft

Question 1

Which Act? Which Sections?

Answer 1

Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, s57 & 58

Question 2

s57(1)

Answer 2

A person is guilty of an offence if

without lawful authority to be there

is found in or on a building or other premises ..or in its curtilage or

[is found] in a vehicle or vessel

in all the circumstances it may be reasoably be inferred that he intended to commit theft (including any aggravation of theft including robbery s57(2)) there.

Summary conviction = fine up to level 4 or imprisonment up to 3 months or both.

Question 3

s58(1)

Answer 3

applies to a person who has two or more convictions for theft which are not, for the purposes of the M1Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, spent convictions. (See notes for full section as quite complicated)

A person is guilty of an offence if:

he has or has recently had in his possession any tool or other object from the possession of which it may be reasonably inferred that he intended to commit theft or has committed theft AND

he is unable to deomonstrate satisfactorily that his possession of such tool or other object is or was not for the purposes of committing theft.

Summary conviction = fine up to level 4 or imprisonment up to 3 months or both. Also can order forfeiture of the tool or other object

Question 4

Cases where courts have been prepared to draw inference of intention to steal & have not been prepared to- not covered in my book and will need to find them

Answer 4

prepared to

McBurnie v McGlennan
McClung v McGlennan
Marr v Heywood
Fulton v Normand

Not prepared to

Allan v Bree

Cameron v Normand (see page 33 of CLT book)