Dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it (Section 1Theft Act 1968)
s3 Theft Act
Appropriation - Assume any rights of ownership over property e.g. selling, using, destroying (R v Vinall)
R v Morris
All rights do not have to be assumed, switching price labels can be appropriation
R v Atakpu and Abrahams
Appropriation takes places at the first moment the defendant assumes the rights, this assumption can be delayed where borrowing agreements change
Lawrence v MPC
Appropriation is not effected by consent
s4 Theft Act
Categories of Property
Money - coins, banknotes
Personal Property - moveable items
Real Property - land, buildings
Things in Action - bank accounts, credit cards
OtherIntangibleProperty - patents, export quotas - Oxford v Moss (confidential information is not property)
s4(2) Theft Act
Real property can be stolen when
A person entrusted with the land appropriates
A person severs something which was part of it
A tenant appropriates fixtures which were just for let
What things are excluded as property?
Plants or Animals found in the wild which have not been cultivated
s5 Theft Act
4 circumstances where property belongs to another
Someone was in possession or control (R v Turner)
Someone had proprietary interest (R v Webster)
Property was received under an obligation (R v Klineberg and Marsden)
Property was received by mistake (R v Gilks)
R v Turner
Control can be temporary, you can steal your own belongings
R v Woodman
Even if the person in control did not realise they had control, it still belongs to them
R v BasildonMagistratesCourt
Items left unattended still belong to their owner
A-G ref 1 of 1983, R v Gilks
Received by mistake
Once the defendant realises it is a mistake, they must return it if there is a legal obligation to do so
s2 Theft Act
Dishonestly - 3 exceptions, then the test for dishonesty
Theft is done in the belief that he has the right in law to deprive the other of property (R v Robinson)
Done in the belief that he would have the other's consent if they had known about the appropriation (R v Holden)
Done in the belief that the person to whom the property belongs cannot be reasonably found (R v Small)
Test for Dishonesty
R v Barton and Booth - changed the law from the Ghosh tests
Ivey v GentingCasinos
What was the defendants actual state of knowledge or belief as to the facts
Was the conduct dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people?
s6 Theft Act
Intention to Permanently Deprive - showing intention of treating property as ones own e.g. taking it, selling it, dealing it from a state of mind perspective (DPP v Lavender)
R v Velumyl
Even if the item is replaced with a replica, it is still theft as the exact item has been taken
R v Lloyd
If circumstances around borrowing change mens rea is satisfied