Theft Flashcards
What is theft under s 1(1) Theft Act 1968?
Dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it
What is the AR of theft?
- appropriation
- property
- belonging to another
What is the MR for theft?
- dishonestly
- with intention to permanently deprive
Must all the elements of the AR and MR exist at the same time?
Yes - offence requires all elements to exist simultaneously
What is appropriation?
Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to an appropriation
What amounts to ‘any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner’ for the appropriation?
Any assumption of rights of owner examples
- selling it
- hiring it
- giving it away
- destroying it
- labelling sale items with different price
Will consent by owner negate any appropriation?
No - appropriation can occur even when defendant has consent of the owner
So can occur where property is gifted
Can appropriation occur after the event of the person acquiring the property?
Yes - later assumption of any rights of owner will also amount to appropriation
What protection does the theft act provide for a good faith purchaser?
D who purchases goods in good faith and for value, who then later discovers that the seller had no title to the property but decides to keep the goods will face no liability
What is property in terms of theft?
Property includes money, and all other property, real or personal, including things in action and other intangible property
Land can generally not be subject to theft. What exceptions are there to this rule?
- D can steal the land when a trustee or PR or authorised by PR or liquidation of company or otherwise, who is authorised to sell or dispose of land belonging to another and he appropriates the land or anything forming part of it by dealing in breach of the confidence reposed in him
- When D is not in possession of the land and appropriates anything forming part of the land by severing it or causing it to be severed or after it has been severed
- When D has a tenancy of the land, he appropriates a whole or part of any fixture or structure let to be used with the land
What is the wild plant exception to property under the theft act?
The following cannot be stolen if growing in the wild
- mushrooms
- flowers
- fruit and/or
- foliage
And they are not used for
- reward
- to be sold
- for another commercial purposes
Will be guilty if uproots or cuts parts of the wild plant or picks cultivated plant
What is the wild animal exception to property being subject to theft?
Cannot be guilty of theft:
- untamed animals
- animals not ordinarily kept in captivity
D can be guilty of theft of
- tamed animals
- animals kept in captivity
- animals in the course of being reduced into possession
Aside from wild animals and wild plants, what other property cannot be stolen, according to case law?
- electricity
- corpses and body parts except those which have been taken into another’s possession or control such corpses in hospitals, blood in blood banks, corpses or body parts which have acquired different attributes for scientific or teaching purposes
- confidential information does not fall within the definition of intangible property
- services such as a train journey
- cheques drawn on accounts over the agreed overdraft limit
What does belonging to another mean in terms of theft?
Persons having control or possession of it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest
Extends beyond ownership including those having possession or control of it or a proprietary interest in it at moment of appropriation
When will property be abandoned so not belong to another?
Very rare situations.
Property is not abandoned just because owner stops looking for it.
Owner must want it to go to another party
If property is found on land, can it be it control/possession of landowner even if they are unaware of its existence?
Yes - if they have secured the land
Can you steal your own property?
Yes.
Belonging to another can mean that multiple people have interest in the one property.
If a person receives title to a property and is expected to use property for a particular purpose but does not, can that person be guilty of theft?
Yes - if they are under a legal obligation to use property in a particular way and fail (this can extend to domestic/social arrangements)
What happens if D acquires property by mistake?
By virtue of Theft Act, property will still be treated as property of another so D can be liable for theft if they keep the property
Is dishonestly defined in the act?
No
What three situations are not to seen as dishonest under the act?
If D believes:
- they have the right in law to deprive the other of the property
-they would have the other’s consent if the other person knew
- the person to whom the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps
In terms of the exception to dishonesty the D believes the person to whom the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps, does D actually have to take reasonable steps?
No - only necessary that D believes that taking such steps will not enable the owner to be found
In order to benefit from one of the three exceptions under the theft act where taking of property will not be seen to be dishonest, does D’s belief need to be reasonably held?
No - belief does not need to be reasonable
Belief must just be genuinely held
