Theft

Question 1

Theft definition section

Answer 1

S1 Theft Act 1968

Question 2

Theft definition

Answer 2

A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it

Question 3

Theft level of offence

Answer 3

Either way

Question 4

Low level shoplifting

Answer 4

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).

Question 5

Actus reus

Answer 5

Appropriates
Property
Belonging to another
Permanently deprive

Question 6

Mens rea

Answer 6

Dishonesty

Intention

Question 7

S2 Theft Act 1986

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What if D was willing to pay for the property?

Answer 8

S2 (2) says that it may be dishonest. Will depend on the facts.

Question 9

Dishonesty test case

Answer 9

Ivey v Genting Casinos 2017

Question 10

Dishonesty test

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

S3 Theft Act 1968

Answer 11

Appropriation is assuming the rights of an owner

Question 12

Can appropriation be a continuing act?

Answer 12

Yes. R v Hale - appropriation included the whole period when a person entered a house, ransacked it and then remove it.

Question 13

Good faith

Answer 13

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

Question 14

S4 Theft Act 1968

Answer 14

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)

Question 15

Plants?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Animals?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Confidential information?

Answer 17

Confidential information is not property (Oxford v Moss). But the piece of paper itself is property.

Question 18

Bodies?

Answer 18

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)

Question 19

S5 Theft Act 1968

Answer 19

Property is regarded as belonging to any person having-
Possession of it
Control of it
A proprietary right or interest

Question 20

Property must have belonged to another at the time of the appropriation

Answer 20

E.g. if deciding not to pay for a meal in a restaurant after you have eaten it, it is not theft.

Question 21

What if you are given property by mistake?

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

S6 Theft Act 1968

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Holding to ransom?

Answer 23

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)