Theft (P1) Flashcards
What is the definition of Theft?
Theft Act 1968 : Section 1 ‘A person is guilty of theft if they dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention to permanently depriving the other of it’
What type of offence is Theft?
Triable either-way offence, maximum sentence of 7 years imprisonment.
What is the AR of Theft?
Section 3(1) ‘ Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to appropriation, and this includes, where he has come by the property (innocently or not) without stealing it, any later assumption of a right to it by keeping or dealing with it as owner’
Section 3(2) ‘ Where property or a right or interest in property is or purports to be transferred for value to a person acting in good faith, no later assumption by him of rights which he believed himself to be acquiring shall, by reason of any defect in the transferor’s title, amount to theft of the property’
IN OTHER WORDS : appropriation of property belonging to another.
What are the two mens rea of theft?
- Dishonesty
- Intention to permanently deprive
What is not classed as dishonest?
Section 2 (1)(a) ‘ a persons appropriation of property belonging to another is not to be regarded as dishonest if he appropriates the property in belief that he has in the law the right to deprive the other of it, on behalf of himself or a third person’
Section 2(1)(b) ‘appropriates the property in the belief that he would have the other’s consent if the other knew of the appropriation and the circumstances of it’
Section 2(1)(c) ‘appropriates the property in the belief that the person to whom the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps’
What is the definition of Intention to Permanently Deprive?
Section 6(1) ‘A person appropriating property belonging to another without meaning the other permanently to lose the thing itself is nevertheless to be regarded as having the intention of permanently depriving the other of it if his intention is to treat the thing as his own to dispose of regardless of the other’s rights; the borrowing or lending is for a period and in circumstances making it equivalent to an outright taking or disposal’
What does S.3(2) allow for?
If you buy stolen property but don’t know it is stolen you are not guilty of theft.
What is personal property?
Things you can touch. Eg. phone, car, purse
What are ‘things in action and other intangible property’?
Property that does not physically exist but gives the owner legal rights
1)Can you steal wild flowers?
2)Can you steal wild animals?
3)If you do not return too much change, is it theft?
1)Yes, for commercial gain
2)Yes for commercial gain
3)Yes, if you have realised
What is the case of R v Gomez used for?
Consent obtained by deception.
What is the case of R v Hinks used for?
Gifts from a vulnerable person.
What is the case of R v Morris used for?
When the appropriation occurs.
