theft

Question 1

what are the components of theft?

Answer 1

• defendant must make an appropriation
• appropriation must be of property
• property belonging to another
• appropriation must be dishonest and done with an intention to permanently deprive

Question 2

what is appropriation?

Answer 2

s3(1) TA 1968
a defendant will appropriate property belonging to another when they treat the property in a way that only the owner of that property would be allowed to treat it
a defendant can appropriate even if owner consents to appropriation and if it is a gift

Question 3

what is property?

Answer 3

s4(1) TA 1968

includes money and all other property, real or personal, including things in action and other intangible property

Question 4

what things do not count as property for the purposes of theft?

Answer 4

wild mushrooms, flowers, fruit or foliage
wild animals
electricity
confidential information
human corpses/body parts
services

Question 5

when is property regarded as belonging to another?

Answer 5

s5(1) TA 1968

belongs to any person having possession or control of it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest

Question 6

what are the rules relating to property belonging to another?

Answer 6

• D can commit theft against someone who is not legal owner of property in question
• D can be guilty even when property they appropriate is illegally held by victim
• D cannot be convicted if property is abandoned

Question 7

for an owner to abandon property what must they do?

Answer 7

discard the property in a way that shows indifference to any future appropriation of the property by others

Question 8

what property is/isn’t abandoned?

Answer 8

• property left in bins is not abandoned
• property left near a charity shop as an obvious donation will not be abandoned
• lost property is not abandoned

Question 9

what are the mens rea elements of theft?

Answer 9

appropriation must be dishonest and done with an intention to permanently deprive?

Question 10

what situations does the theft act make it clear that appropriation is not dishonest?

Answer 10

• D appropriates property with belief that they have a legal right to deprive the other of it
• D appropriates property with belief that they would have the other’s consent if the other knew of the appropriation and its circumstances
• D appropriates property in the belief that the person the property belongs to cannot be found by taking reasonable steps

Question 11

what is the test the courts use for dishonesty?

Answer 11

first limb of Ghosh test:

a defendant will be dishonest if a reasonable and honest person would describe what they did as being dishonest

Question 12

when will a defendant be taken to have intended to permanently deprive another person of their property?

Answer 12

if they either:

• intend to treat the property as their own, and in doing so dispose of the other’s rights to the property
• borrow or lend the property for a period which essentially makes in equivalent to an outright taking of the property