Theft

• Theft is defined under S(1) Theft Act 1968
• A person is guilty of theft is he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it.
• S(7) Theft Act = Maximum penalty for theft is 7 years in prison.
• S(3) Theft Act 1968 is Appropriation.
• Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner, amounts to an appropriation.
• CASE: MORRIS (1983) - Appropriation can happen through any of the rights, doesn't have to be all of them.
• CASE: LAWRENCE (1972) - The thief takes over one of the owner's rights, possessing it.
• CASE: GOMEZ (1993) - Even if the owner consents the defendent may still be guilty of appropriation.
• CASE: HINKS (2000) - Even if there is a valid gift, the defendant may still be guilty of appropriation.
• S(4) Theft Act is Property
• Property includes money and all other property real/personal including things in action and other intangible property.
• S4(2) - Cannot steal land
• S4(3) - Can take wild mushrooms, flowers of fruit if they are going to be used for reward/sale.
• S4(4) - Can take Wild animals if they are not tamed/captive.
• CASE: OXFORD & MOSS - Knowledge of questions/information is not property.
• CASE: KELLY & LINDSAY - Dead body parts are only property if they have value or have been preserved in some type of way.
• CASE: VELUMYL - Money includes notes and coins.
• Can take land in 3 circumstances

  1. s4.2a - trustee takes land in breach of his duty
  2. s4.2b - someone not in possession of the land, severs anything forming part of the land from the land
  3. s4.2c - Tennant takes fixture/ structure from land lent to them
• s5 - Belonging to another
• Definition ' s5 (1) - belonging to any person having possession or control of it or any proprietary interest
• you can be convicted of stealing your own property ( Turner )
• lost - the stolen ( Theft )

  abandoned - then stolen ( Not theft ) ( Hibbert )
• proprietary interest ' when you have an interest in property whether you have ownership or not '
• proprietary interest example ( Webster )
• property received under obligation = s5(3) must do something specific with it - still belongs to the original owner. ( Davidge and Bunnett )
• property received by mistake - s5(4) - under obligation to make restoration of the property or its proceeds of the value there of ( AG's Ref )
• dishonestly - s2
• Definition ' dishonestly doesn't have a definition under the theft act however there are 3 circumstances where a person is not dishonest '
• s2.1a - Genuinely believed that they had the legal right to deprive the other of it ( Robinson )

  s2.1b - believe they would've had the owners consent if they knew the situation ( Holden )

  s2.1c - believed that the item could not be discovered by taking reasonable steps ( Small )
• if the 3 circumstances do not apply then must move to the Barton and Booth test

  1. was the defendant's actual state of knowledge or belief of the facts
  2. was their conduct dishonest by the standards of an ordinary person.
• intent to deprive - s6
• 1. Treating the thing as their own - ( Zerei ) = steals car but abandoned so not theft ( Velumyl ) - Cant return money if spent as you cant return the exact same notes or coins
• 2. Borrowing and lending - only when goodness, virtue or practical value of the item has gone will become intent to permanently deprive ( Lloyd )
• 3. Conditional intent - if defendant steals but thinks that the item is not worth it and returns it with no intent they are not guilty ( Easom )