Property Offences Flashcards
DEFINITION
Section 238 - Damage
Damage to property includes:
A) destroying the property, AND
B) causing the physical loss of the property by interfering with the property (including by removing any restraint over the property or abandoning the property) AND
C) Causing any loss of a use o4 function of the property by interfering with the property, AND
D) Defacing the property, AND
E) for a document - obliterating or rendering illegible the whole or part of any document, AND
F) for an animal - harming or killing the animal, AND
G) for a plant or other thing forming part of land - severing it from the land
DEFINITION
SECTION 238 - PROPERTY
A) means any real or personal property of a tangible nature, AND
B) without limiting paragraph (a) includes:
i) a wild creature that is tamed or ordinarily kept in captivity or that is or is being reduced into the possession of a person, AND
ii) any organ or part of a human body and any blood, ova, semen or other substance extracted from the human body.
DEFINITONS
SECTION 238 - PROPERTY DAMAGE OFFENCE
A) an offence against subdivision 2 (other than an offence against section 242) OR
B) conduct in a State or Territory that:
i) is an offence against a law of that State or Territory AND
ii) would constitute an offence against Subdivision 2 (other than an offence against section 242) if the conduct occurred in the Territory
SECTION 239 - PERSON TO WHOM PROPERTY BELONGS TO.
Property belongs to anyone who has:
A) possession or control of it; or
B) any proprietary right or interest in it, other than an equitable interest arising only from:
i) an agreement to transfer or grant an interest; or
ii) a constructive trust
2) If property is subject to a trust, the person to whom the property belongs includes anyone having a right to enforce the Trust
3) If property belongs to 2 or more persons
a) a reference in this Division to whom the property belongs is a reference to all those persons; and
b) for an offence committed by a person (the defendant) - a reference in this division to property belonging to another person includes a reference to property belonging to the defendant and other persons
DEFINITION - CAUSING DAMAGE OR OTHER RESULT
A person causes damage or any other result if the person’s conduct substantially contributes to the damage or other result.
Section 241(1) Damage to Property
1) a person is guilt of an offence if the person causes damage to property belonging to another person.
Fault elements:
The person:
a) intentionally causes damage to property belonging to that other person or someone else; or
b) is reckless as to causing damage to property belonging to that other person or someone else
Max penalty: 10yr imprisonment
Points of proof for Section 241(1) - Damage to property
- identify the offender
- identify the property
- identify the damage caused to the property, by the offender
- identify to whom the property belongs
- specify the INTENT of the offender or prove RECKLESSNESS
***No requirement for the value of damage
Section 241(2)
DAMAGE TO PROPERTY
A person is guilty of an offence if the person makes a threat to another person to cause damage to the property.
Fault elements
The person:
(a) intentionally makes a threat to another person to cause damage to the property; AND
(b) is reckless as to causing the other person to fear that:
(i) the threat will be carried out; AND
(ii) the carrying out of the threat will cause death or serious harm to someone.
Max penalty: 7yr imprisonment
Points of proof - Section 241(2)
Identify the offender
Specify the threat (to be such a nature that if carried out, death or serious harm would result)
Identify the person to whom the threat was made
Identify the property threatened
Specify the INTENT or provee RECKLESSNESS by the offender as to causing fear.
Section 248 - Consent
(Subdivision 3: Circumstances in which there’s no criminal responsibility)
A person (the defendant) is NOT criminally responsible against this Division that involves damage to property (other than s242) if, at the time of the conduct constituting the offence:
A) the person entitled to constent to the damage to the property concerned had so consented; or
B) the defendant believed that
i) the person whom the defendant believed wad entitled to consent to the damage of the property concerned had so consented; OR
ii) such a person would have so consented if that person had known about the damage to be caused to the property and its circumstances
Section 5 - Vehicle definition
(Motor vehicle act 1949)
Vehicle means any means of conveyance which runs on wheels but does NOT include any Vehicle used on a railway.
Summary offences act
Section 49A - Illegal use of vehicle
Any person who, without reasonable excuse:
A) interferes with or tampers with any vehicle
B) works or uses any horse or other beast of burden; or
C) interferes with, tampers with or goes on board a boat,
Without the consent of the owner or the person in lawful charge thereof, shall be guilty of an offence.
Section 241A RAM RAID
- A person commits an offence if:
a) person drives a motor vehicle; and
b) the person engages in that conduct with the intention of using the vehicle to damage property belonging to another person; and
c) the conduct results in damage to the property
Fault elements for 241A Ram-raid
Subsection 1(b) is the fault element for the conduct in 1(a)
the person engages in that conduct with the intention of using the vehicle to damage property belonging to another person;
276H - Publishing material about offending conduct
- A person commits an offence if the person:
a) publishes material on social media, and
b) the material depicts conduct that constitutes an offence against
i) a provision of Part VI, div 3A, 4,5 or 5A
ii) a provision of part VII, Division 1 or 6 or
iii) provision prescribed by regulation
c) the person published the material with the intention of any of the following
i) increasing reputation or notoriety of a person who engaged in the conduct
ii) boasting of the conduct
iii) glorifying the conduct
iv) encouraging others to engage in same or similar conduct
1(c) is the fault element for 1(a)
Defence for 276H - publishing material
If the material is…
Fictional or
Published for genuine academic, artistic, educational, journalistic, literary, satirical, or scientific purpose, or
Published to inform the public of the criminal conduct in order to complain or warn/notify or promote awareness
