Theft Flashcards
Theft definition section
S1 Theft Act 1968
Theft definition
A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it
Theft level of offence
Either way
Low level shoplifting
If theft is shoplifting under £200 then it is treated as summary - but powers in relation to indictable offences remain e.g. searching - just must be tried in the magistrates, unless D is over 18 and elects to go to crown (s176 Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014).
Actus reus
Appropriates
Property
Belonging to another
Permanently deprive
Mens rea
Dishonesty
Intention
S2 Theft Act 1986
A person is not dishonest if -
a) they believed they would have had the owner’s consent
b) they believed they had a right in law to take it
c) they believed the owner cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps
What if D was willing to pay for the property?
S2 (2) says that it may be dishonest. Will depend on the facts.
Dishonesty test case
Ivey v Genting Casinos 2017
Dishonesty test
The court must first ascertain D’s knowledge of the facts or belief as to the facts and their mental state. Then the question of whether Ds actions were dishonest is to be determined by applying the objective standards of ordinary decent people.
D does not need to believe themselves that they have been dishonest.
S3 Theft Act 1968
Appropriation is assuming the rights of an owner
Can appropriation be a continuing act?
Yes. R v Hale - appropriation included the whole period when a person entered a house, ransacked it and then remove it.
Good faith
If property is transferred for a value in good faith, no later assumption by them of the rights of an owner will amount to theft
S4 Theft Act 1968
Property includes- Money All other property Real (land) Personal (tangible property e.g. TV) Things in action (e.g. bank account) Other intangible property (e.g. software, credit on loyalty cards)
Plants?
Plants growing wild are not property, unless used for a commercial purpose/gain.
Made jam from blueberries you picked - not theft
Made jam from blueberries you picked then sold the jam - theft
Animals?
You can steal-
Domestic animals
Animals owned by someone e.g. cows, sheep
You cannot steal-
Random wild animals not owned by anyone e.g. wild rabbit
Confidential information?
Confidential information is not property (Oxford v Moss). But the piece of paper itself is property.
Bodies?
Human bodies are not generally regarded as property. Unless they have acquired different attributes by the application of skill or knowledge e.g. dissection, preservation techniques (R v Kelly)
S5 Theft Act 1968
Property is regarded as belonging to any person having-
Possession of it
Control of it
A proprietary right or interest
Property must have belonged to another at the time of the appropriation
E.g. if deciding not to pay for a meal in a restaurant after you have eaten it, it is not theft.
What if you are given property by mistake?
You are under an obligation to restore it as the property does not belong to you. If you dishonestly kept it, it would be theft.
S6 Theft Act 1968
Intention to permanently deprive is to treat the thing as their own, regardless of the other’s rights.
Includes: retaining, consuming, destroying and abandoning the property where the owner is unlikely to recover it or keeping the property until it is of no further use i.e. they have taken all of the value out of the object.
Holding to ransom?
This would be treating as their own.
The implication is that if the ransom is not paid, the property will not be returned. (R v Coffey)
