Property Offences - Theft Flashcards
Theft
Theft is a triable either way offence with a max penalty in the crown court of 7 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. In the magistrates court, 6 months imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
The theft act
‘The dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it’.
Actus reus
S.3 - appropriation
S.4 - property
S.5 - belonging to another
Actus reus element 1 - appropriation
‘To assume/taking the rights of the owner’. Appropriating someone’s rights: taking the ‘rights that someone else has over the property’ might include a person who has been lent another person’s belongings. During their course of their possession of that property, selling it on, destroying it, or modifying it in some way that assumes ownership over it in some way.
Appropriation cases
Morris - assumed owners rights at shop
Vinnall - took ownership of bike and then abandoned it
Theft with deception
Coercive, deceptive or untruthful means or acts in order to gain and appropriate property. An appropriation may still be present even when there is consent from the owner.
Theft with deception - cases
Lawrence - tricked into paying more for fare
Gomez - persuasion to accept stolen cheques with no value
Hinks - d was v’s caretaker, ‘gifted’ a lot of money and things from v
Gifting
Consent without deception. In the case of Hicks, if it was civil, it would’ve been a valid case, but the human element (v’s limited intelligence and d being his main carer) makes the outcome of the case satisfactory.
When does appropriation take place?
It takes place when d first assumes rights of ownership without the actual rights. Can be a later act, or right from the start (Abrahams).
What constitutes as property?
- money
- land
- tangible items
- buildings/rocks/plants
- picking an apple from someone’s tree
- renter takes fixtures/lightbulbs when they move out
Cases for property
Kelly: usually body parts are not considered to be anyone’s property after death- body parts were donated for providing opportunity to dissection and furthering skill.
Oxford v. Moss: theft of confidential information
Marshall: reselling and using other’s property for own gain
Things in action
- bank accounts
- cheques
Actus reus s.5 - belonging to another
What a person owns, another can possess.
Key words:
- possession
- control
- ownership
S.5 cases
Turner: owner of property can be guilty of theft even if v had no right to stop them from taking the property back
Woodman: company was unaware of property left behind
Rickets: items still belonged to owner until Oxfam took ownership
Belonging to another - abandoned property
If property is truly abandoned, it has no owner and anyone who takes it will not be held liable for theft.
Lost property
Lost property is regarded as belonging to the ‘loser’ . However, where the owner cannot be found with reasonable steps, the finder of the property has better title to the items than the owner of land on which the items are found.
Lost property case
Bridges: claimant was entitled to the return of the money after not being claimed for 3 years
Proprietary interest
Where d owns property and is in possession and control of the property, they can still be guilty of stealing it if another person has a proprietary interest in it.
Proprietary interest - case
Webster: ministry of defence still had proprietary interest in the property
Acting dishonestly - s.5
S.5 makes it clear that in certain situations, d can still be guilty of theft even if property does not ‘belong to another’. These are situations in which d is acting dishonestly and caused a loss to another or has made a gain:
- trust property, where a trustee can steal it
- property received under an obligation
- property received by another’s mistake
Property received under an obligation - s.5(3)
Property given must be used in a particular way. Property may be handed over to d on a certain basis or under certain obligation.
Property received under an obligation - cases
Kilneberg: under obligation ‘to retain and deal with that property or its proceedings in a particular way’
Davidge: legal obligation to deal with property in a certain way
Wain: used property for own purposes despite being under legal obligation
Property received by mistake - s.5(4)
General principle: return it in good faith.
Property received by mistake - case
AGs Ref: knowingly doesn’t return property
Mens rea of theft
S.2 - ‘dishonestly’
S.6 - intention to permanently deprive the other of the appropriated
Both must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
‘Dishonestly’
There is no definition in s.2 of what dishonestly is, but s.2(1) shows what isn’t dishonest.
Theft - s.2(1)
D’s appropriation of property is not dishonest if:
- he believes in law he has a right to deprive another of property
- he believes that the other would consent if he/she were aware that their property had been appropriated
- he appropriates the property in the belief that the owner cannot reasonably be traced
S.2(1) - cases
Robinson: honest belief
Holden: believed he had legal right to property
Small: owner couldn’t be found
What if d is willing to pay for the stolen property or leaves money?
S.2(2) - ‘a person’s appropriation of property belonging to another may be dishonest notwithstanding that he is willing to pay for the property’.
Ivery test
Asks 2 questions:
- what was d’s actual state of knowledge/belief as to the facts?
- was conduct dishonest by standards of ordinary, decent people?
Intention to permanently deprive - s.6
The defence will often try to prove that property is ‘borrowed’. It can be difficult to separate ‘borrowed’ from ‘intention’.
Intention to permanently deprive - cases
DDP v J: intended to permanently deprive by destroying the property
Velumyl: permanently deprived company of banknotes even if d intended to replace them with banknotes of the same value
Lavender: court ruled that the dictionary definition of ‘dispose of’ was too narrow as disposal could include ‘dealing with’ the property
Lloyd: ‘the goodness, the virtue, the practical value’ was not lost
Conditional intent
Where d may examine property to determine whether there is value in stealing it. D will then return property if prized items were not found.
Conditional intent - case
Easom: replaced item without taking anything.
