Theft Flashcards
s.1 Theft Act 1968
“A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it”
Appropriation
S.3(1) Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner
R v Pitman and Hehl
Includes selling property not in D’s possession
R v Morris
There does not have to be an assumption of all the rights of the owner, the assumption of any of the rights will suffice ( here was swapping price labels)
Atakpu and abrahams
appropriation cannot be continuous - must exist in one specific moment in time
Eddy v niman
If D has intention to steal but doesnt actually approriate, not theft
V consents to appropriation
R v Lawrence: still be appropriation if V consents
R v Gomez: Consent received through deception is not real
R v Hinks: Includes receiving a gift
Property
s.4(1) says “property includes money and all other property, real and personal, including things in action and other intangible property”
Property
Real (land and buildings)
Personal (moveable items that can be stolen)
In action (debts/cheques Kohn)
Intangible (export quota AG for Hong kong v chan nai-keung)
Not property
Wild mushrooms, fungus, plants, shrubs,fruits,flowers (s.4(3))
Wild animals and carcasses (unless tamed s.4(4))
Land and interests in land (s.4(2))
Corpses and body parts (r v sharpe)
Unless body then for skill and art can be stolen (kelly and lindsay)
Bodily fluids can be (R v welsh)
Electricity (low v blease)
Information (oxford v moss)
Belonging to another
s.5(1) theft act ‘property shall be regarded as belonging to any person having possession or control if it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest’
R v Turner
You can steal your own property if you do not at the point of appropriation have the legal right to it or do not have possession or control of it
s.5(3)
Property received under an obligation to use it in a certain way will be seen as belonging to another unless it is used for that exact purpose (davidge v bunnett)
s.5(4)
Property received by the mistake of another still belongs to another (AG’s ref 1 of 1983)
R v Dyke & Munro
Money for charity belongs to the charity as soon as it is collected
Ownerless, lost and abandoned property will still belong to the original owner
Williams v phillips - rubbish belongs to homeowner then passes to council
R v rostron - golf balls abandoned by golf club on their land still belonged to club
Proprietary interests
s.5(2) States property held in trust for another belongs to the person who the trust is held for
Includes partly used underground tickets R v marshall
Includes army medals sent in error, MOD - r v webster
ITPD
s.6 theft act says includes if D’s “intention is to treat the thing as his own to dispose of regardless of the others rights” r v lavender
Marshall
includes borrowing for such a long time it amounts to taking or if returning in a state its worthless - underground tickets
DPP v J and others
Includes borrowing and returning broken
R v lloyd
Includes intending to return but devaluing, must lose all practical value
R v eason
Includes conditional intent (steal if worth stealing)
R v raphael
Includes intention to sell or ransom property back to owner
R v velumyl
Includes an intention to replace with identical property
R v mitchell
Includes intention to abandon property
Dishonesty
Up to jury to decide
s.2 theft avt does not define but states that D is not dishonest if:
S.2(1)(a) D has right in law to deprive the other of it (R v holden)
s.2(1)(b) D would have V’s consent if V knew about it (boggeln v williams)
