Theft

• Definition of theft from S.1 Theft Act 1968


  ' Dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another with intention to permanently deprive '
• Stage 1 - Appropriation

  Contained in S.3 of act

  • ' any assumption of the rights of the owner ' e.g possess, use, keep, dispose of
  • appropriation is needed for theft but not all appropriation is theft
• Stage 1 - Appropriation cases

  Lawrence; Gomez - appropriation even where owner consented to transfer of property

  Morris - appropriation where there was no consent, doesn't have to assume all rights

  Atakpu - appropriation has a beginning and end, it can be a continuing act

  Hinks - appropriation even if received by gift

  Pitham and Hehl - D doesn't have to have physical contact with property
• Stage 2 - Property

  Contained in S.4 of act

  • ' money and all other property, whether real or personal, including things in action and other tangible property '

  money = banknotes, coins

  personal = moveable property e.g. bags, phones ( Kelly and Lindsay )

  real = land and things attached to land

  Wild animals cannot be stolen unless ' reduced into possession '

  Wild plants cannot be stolen unless for commercial gain

  things in action = money in a bank account

  intangible = property with no physical presence

  Confidential information cannot be stolen ( Oxford V Moss )
• Stage 3 - Belonging to another

  Contained in S.5 (1) of act

  • property (is) having possession or control of it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest " (Turner No.2)

  Contained in S.5 (3) of act

  • ' Receives property from another under obligation to deal with property in a specific way, the BTA ' (Davidge V Bunnett)

  Contained in S.5 (4) of act

  • ' receives property by mistake they are under obligation to make restoration ' (AG's Ref No 1 of 1983)
  • If property is lost the original owner remains the owner, abandoned it will no longer BTA
• Stage 4 - Dishonesty

  • S.2 (1) (a) to (c) gives 3 situations where the D would not be dishonest providing they honestly believed that this was the case

  Small = doesn't matter if unreasonable belief, providing it's a genuine belief

  S.2(1)(a): The D honestly believes that he has the right to deprive the other of it

  S.2(1)(b): The D honestly believes that he would have the other’s consent if other knew of the appropriation + the circumstances

  S.2(1)(c): The D honestly believes that the person who the property belongs to cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps
• Stage 4 - Dishonesty


  If jury aren't satisfied that any situations apply the judge will advise them to consider the Ivey Test (Ivey V Genting Casinos)

  They must be satisfied that the D's conduct would be regarded as being dishonest according to the ordinary standards of the honest and reasonable people

  This is an objective test
• Stage 5 - Intention to permanently deprive

  This is generally straightforward.(Velumyl)

  When it isn’t clear, S.6 states IPD is when: 

  • They treat the thing as his own to dispose of. ‘Dispose of’ means get rid of - dumping or selling.
  • Lavender = “dispose of” also means ‘dealing with’. 
  • Borrowing or lending may be equivalent to an outright taking when… ‘the goodness, the virtue, the practical value…has gone out of the article’ (Lloyd)

  Conditional intent is not sufficient for theft (Easom). If someone was to root through a bag but find nothing of value worth stealing, this is not theft.