Theft

• What is the definition of theft under s1 of the Theft Act 1968?

  “A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it”
• What is the AR of theft?

  • Appropriation
  • Property
  • Belonging to another
• What is the MR of theft?

  • Dishonesty
  • Intent to permanently deprive
• How does s4 (1) of the Act defines property?

  “Property” includes money and all other property, real or personal, including things in action and other intangible property.
• What is meant by intangible property?

  Property that has no physical form, such as intellectual property e.g patents, copyright & design
• What is the L.P of Oxford v Moss?

  L.P: confidential information can not be stolen as it is not a type of property
• What is the L.P of Smith, Plummer & Haines?

  L.P: unlawful or illegal items are covered under the definitions of property under the Theft Act
• What is stated in s4 (2)?

  A person cannot steal land, or things forming part of land and severed from it by him or by his directions, except in the following cases
• What is stated in section 4 (3)?

  A person who picks mushrooms growing wild on any land, or who picks flowers, fruit or foliage from a plant growing wild on any land, does not steal what he picks, unless he does it for reward or for sale or other commercial purpose.
• What is stated in section 4 (4)?

  Wild creatures, tamed or untamed, shall be regarded as property; but a person cannot steal a wild creature not tamed nor ordinarily kept in captivity, unless either it has been reduced into possession by or on behalf of another person and possession of it has not since been lost or abandoned, or another person is in course of reducing it into possession
• What is the L.P of R V Kelly & Lindsay?

  L.P: bodies & body parts can generally not be stolen & regarded as property unless they have been taken to practise the application of skill, such as dissection or preservation techniques
• How could a corpse be considered as property?

  If it is in another’s possession or control of it e.g a hospital possessing corpses
• What is the L.P of R V Welsh? (when D ran off with his urine sample instead of giving it to the police)

  L.P: held that bodily fluids can be stolen
• How is appropriation defined in section 3 (1) & in R v Morris?

  Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to an 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, be it keeping or dealing with it as owner
• How does section 3 (2) provide ways that there is no appropriation?

  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
• What are the requirements for section 3 (2)?

  1. Must be a purchaser of the item
  2. Needs to be acting in ‘good faith’: can’t know that property is stolen
  3. Only relates to where you keep the property: if person realises that it is stolen & sells property, they will be liable for theft
  4. L.P of Adams
• What is the L.P of Adams?

  L.P: Conviction will be quashed if D did not know that the property that they sold was stolen
• What is the L.P of Lawrence? (where taxi driver told V to pay more than what was required & claimed that V consented)

  L.P: Appropriation can still occur even if the victim consented
• What is the L.P of Gomez?

  L.P: there could be an appropriation even with consent if consent was obtained out of deception/false representation
• What is the L.P of Darroux? (where D made false claims on overtime payments & V paid D via their bank account)

  L.P: in cases where money is obtained from V’s bank account, there will be no appropriation if V arranged the transfer of the money themselves
• What is the L.P of Hinks?

  L.P: gifts given by V would still amount to an appropriation if deception was involved
• What is the L.P of Atakpu?

  L.P: D will still be guilty of appropriation if they find property without stealing it but decide to keep the money & deal with it as if they were the owner
• How does section 5 (1) define Belonging to Another?

  Property shall be regarded as belonging to any person having possession or control of it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest
• What is covered in section 5 (3)?

  Property received under obligation
• What is covered in section 5 (4)?

  Property received under mistake
• What is the L.P of Turner?

  L.P: Owners can steal their own property if someone else has a smaller interest
• What is the L.P of Ricketts V Basildon?

  L.P: Property is abandoned only when the owner is indifferent to any future appropriation of the property by others (D can’t interfere in the transfer of ownership)
• What is the L.P of R V Rostron?

  L.P: held that lost property is different to abandoned property as with lost property, the owner has not intended to give up their proprietorial interest
• What is the L.P of R v Sullivan?

  L.P: stated that appropriation of property from a dead body will not be held to be their property as it no longer belongs to another
• What is stated in s5 (3) & is the L.P of Davide v Bennett?

  where a person receives money from or on account of another and is under an obligation to the other to retain and deal with the property or its proceeds in a particular way, the property shall be regarded as belonging to another
• What is stated in s5 (4) & is the L.P of R v Gilks?

  Where a person gets property by another’s mistake, and is under an obligation to make restoration of that property or its proceeds, then to the extent....the property or proceeds shall be regarded as belonging to the person entitled to restoration and an intention not to make restoration shall be regarded as an intention to permanently deprive that person of the property or proceeds.
• For dishonesty, how does section 2 (1) (a) set out scenarios where D will not be dishonest?

  2(1)(a): If he appropriates in the belief, he has in law the right to deprive the other of it, on behalf of himself or of a third person
• For dishonesty, how does section 2 (1) (b) set out scenarios where D will not be dishonest?

  2(1)(b): If he 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
• For dishonesty, how does section 2 (1) (c) set out scenarios where D will not be dishonest?

  2(1)(c): Except where the property came to him as a trustee or personal representative, if he appropriates the property in the belief that the person to whom to the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps.
• What is an important element to consider for s2 (1) (b)?

  Belief does not have to be reasonable as long as it is genuine
• What is the L.P of Ivey?

  L.P: established the Ivey test that is used for dishonesty if none of the three scenarios apply

  L.P: was the defendant's conduct dishonest by the standard of ordinary, reasonable people?
• How does s6 (1) define intention to permanently deprive?

  if the intention is to treat the thing as your own to dispose of regardless of the other’s rights and a borrowing or lending of it may amount to so treating if…it is for a period and in circumstances making it equivalent to an outright taking and disposal
• What is the L.P of Lloyd?

  L.P: intention to permanently deprive is not established if the property's goodness, virtue & value has not been diminished
• What is the L.P of Velumyl?

  L.P: intention to permanently deprive can also occurs where D has borrowed property for a long period of time, thus becoming an outright taking

  L.P: Strict test is placed where D would have to replace the exact same notes they appropriated
• What is the L.P of Mittchell? (where D took V’s car & abandoned it a few miles from V’s house)

  L.P: there may be no intention to permanently deprive where D abandons the thing in circumstances where he knows the owner will get it back