Theft

Question 1

What is theft under s 1(1) Theft Act 1968?

Answer 1

Dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it

Question 2

What is the AR of theft?

Answer 2

• appropriation
• property
• belonging to another

Question 3

What is the MR for theft?

Answer 3

• dishonestly
• with intention to permanently deprive

Question 4

Must all the elements of the AR and MR exist at the same time?

Answer 4

Yes - offence requires all elements to exist simultaneously

Question 5

What is appropriation?

Answer 5

Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to an appropriation

Question 6

What amounts to ‘any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner’ for the appropriation?

Answer 6

Any assumption of rights of owner examples

• selling it
• hiring it
• giving it away
• destroying it
• labelling sale items with different price

Question 7

Will consent by owner negate any appropriation?

Answer 7

No - appropriation can occur even when defendant has consent of the owner

So can occur where property is gifted

Question 8

Can appropriation occur after the event of the person acquiring the property?

Answer 8

Yes - later assumption of any rights of owner will also amount to appropriation

Question 9

What protection does the theft act provide for a good faith purchaser?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

What is property in terms of theft?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Land can generally not be subject to theft. What exceptions are there to this rule?

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

What is the wild plant exception to property under the theft act?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What is the wild animal exception to property being subject to theft?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Aside from wild animals and wild plants, what other property cannot be stolen, according to case law?

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

What does belonging to another mean in terms of theft?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

When will property be abandoned so not belong to another?

Answer 16

Very rare situations.

Property is not abandoned just because owner stops looking for it.

Owner must want it to go to another party

Question 17

If property is found on land, can it be it control/possession of landowner even if they are unaware of its existence?

Answer 17

Yes - if they have secured the land

Question 18

Can you steal your own property?

Answer 18

Yes.

Belonging to another can mean that multiple people have interest in the one property.

Question 19

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?

Answer 19

Yes - if they are under a legal obligation to use property in a particular way and fail (this can extend to domestic/social arrangements)

Question 20

What happens if D acquires property by mistake?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Is dishonestly defined in the act?

Answer 21

No

Question 22

What three situations are not to seen as dishonest under the act?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

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?

Answer 23

No - only necessary that D believes that taking such steps will not enable the owner to be found

Question 24

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?

Answer 24

No - belief does not need to be reasonable

Belief must just be genuinely held

Question 25

What is the test of dishonestly as laid down in Ivey v Genting Casinos?

Answer 25

- What was the defendant's knowledge and belief as to the facts? - Given that knowledge and those beliefs, was the defendant dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people?

Question 26

If a person is willing to pay for the property, can they be dishonest?

Answer 26

Yes

Question 27

When must dishonest intent be formed?

Answer 27

At the time property belonged to another

Question 28

For intention to permanently deprive, must the owner actually be deprived of their property?

Answer 28

No - D must just have intention to at time of appropriation

Question 29

How is intention to permanently deprive to be interpreted?

Answer 29

Should be given its ordinary everyday meaning

Question 30

How does s 6 extend intention to permanently deprive?

Answer 30

Allows intention to permanently deprive to be found where D has intention to treat the thing as his own to dispose of regardless of the other's rights

Question 31

Under the extension of intention to permanently deprive under s 6, when will the courts find D has intention to treat the thing as his own to dispose of regardless of the other's rights?

Answer 31

- D attempts to sell the owner their own property - D uses the owner's property for bargaining (ransom) - D renders the property useless (takes all its goodness/value) - Intends to treat it in a manner which risks its loss - more than dealing with is required

Question 32

When will borrowing or lending of the property amount to intention to permanently deprive under s 6?

Answer 32

Where it is for a period and circumstance making it equivalent to an outright taking or disposal

Question 33

Will a person who pledges another's property for security for a loan ever be found to have intention to permanently deprive so liable for theft?

Answer 33

Yes - under s 6(2) if it amounts to them acting as if the have the right to dispose of the property regardless of the other's rights

Question 34

Will intention to replace property taken with equivalent property negate intention to permanently deprive?

Answer 34

No - courts have held that still in intention to permanently deprive as original property has gone even if exact replacement