Theft (Actus Reus) Flashcards
What type of offence is theft?
Triable-either-way
What is the maximum sentence for theft?
7 years custodial sentence
What statute governs theft?
The Theft Act 1968
What section of the Theft Act 1968 defines theft?
Section 1(1)
What is stated in S.1(1) Theft Act 1968?
“A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving them of it”
What is stated in S.3(1) Theft Act 1968?
Appropriation is any assumption of the rights of the owner.
So theft can be selling, destroying or lending out someone else’s property
What was held in R v Vinall?
The COA held that taking the bike and abandoning it at the bus shelter were both seen as an assumption of the rights of the owner
What was held in R v Morris?
Only needs to be an assumption of one right of an owner
What was held in Lawrence v Commissioner of The Met Police?
The House of Lords held that consent does not matter and there still may be appropriation
What was held in R v Gomez?
The House of Lords held that “an act expressly or impliedly authorised by the owner of goods could amount to appropriation”
What was held in R v Hinks?
Even though the money was a gift, the defendant still received the money and acted dishonestly
What is also stated in S.3(1) Theft Act 1968?
There can be appropriation where you acquire property without stealing it and decide to keep it anyway
What is stated in S.4(1) Theft Act 1968?
“Property includes money and all property, real or personal, including things in action or other intangible property”
What was held in R v Kelly and Lindsay?
A dead body is not normally property but as the body parts required skills that change the character and value of the body parts, the COA upheld convictions of theft
What is stated in S.4(2) Theft Act 1968?
Land can only be stolen if:
- Breach of a trustee or personal representatives power
- By severing part of the land
- By appropriating a picture or structure let to be used in the land when under tenancy
What are ‘things in action’?
Property that doesn’t exist physically but gives the owner legal rights enforceable by court action. Such as a bank account, or shares, etc.
What is stated in S.11 Theft Act 1968?
“Dishonestly using electricity or wasting it/diverting it is theft”
What was held in Oxford v Moss?
Confidential information did not fall in the definition of ‘intangible property’ so the defendant’s appeal was allowed
What is stated in S.4(3) Theft Act 1968?
A person does not commit theft picking a plant for their own, non-commercial use
What is stated in S.4(4) Theft Act 1968?
A person does not commit theft if they steal a wild creature that is not tamed, in captivity or in the possession of another person
What is stated in S.5(1) Theft Act 1968?
Property that is stolen must belong to a person that has control of it or any proprietary interest or right in it
How does S.5(1) Theft Act 1968 benefit the prosecution?
They don’t have to prove who actually owns the property, just who has control over it
What was held in R v Turner?
The defendant was convicted of stealing his own car from the garage after repairs. The COA upheld the conviction as the garage was in control of the car
What was held in R v Webster?
He was convicted of theft as the MoD retained proprietary interest in the medal
What was held in R v Hall?
The conviction of theft was quashed as when he paid the deposit, he was under no obligation to deal with it in a certain way
What is covered in S.5(4) Theft Act 1968?
Situations where property is handed to someone by mistake
What was held in R v Pitham and Hehl?
The offer to sell the victims furniture was considered an appropriation; it was assuming the rights of the owner
What was held in R v Atakpu and Abrahams?
Appropriation takes place at the moment they obtained the property and so appropriation was not a continuing act
What was held in Attorney-General’s Reference Number One of 1983?
Money was a ‘thing in action’ and S.5(4) applied as the money was received as a mistake, and there was an obligation to restore this
