Property offences, including theft and robbery

• The Theft Act 1968 codified the law of property offences into one statute (prior to this act this law was found in common law making it complex)
• Since the original 1968 Act, an update came in the form of the Theft Act 1978 and the Theft (Amendment) Act 1996, which makes amendments to the 1968 and 1978 Acts
• Property offences


  • Theft
  • Robbery
  • Burglary
• Understanding property offences


  • UNDERSTAND that there are different property offences
  • EXPLAIN the actus reus and mens rea of theft
  • APPLY the law of theft to given scenarios
  • DISCUSS reform of the law on theft
• Theft


  A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it
• The maximum sentence for theft is seven years' imprisonment and a triable either way offence (s.7)
• Actus Reus of Theft

  • Appropriation (s.3)
  • Property (s.4)
  • Belonging to another (s.5)
• Mens Rea of Theft


  • Intention to permanently deprive (s.6)
  • Dishonesty (s.2)
• Actus reus of robbery

  Theft + Use of force or threat of force in order to steal + Immediately before or at the same time as stealing + On any person
• Appropriation


  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 by keeping or dealing with it as owner
• Mens rea of robbery


  Intention to use force in order to thieve
• An appropriation can still take place even if the victim consents to the property being taken, as in Lawrence v MPC (1972)
• ALL of the elements of theft must be present for there to have been a robbery. If one element is missing there is no robbery; as confirmed in the case of R v Robinson (1977).
• In R v Hinks (2000), the defendant's charge of theft was upheld regardless of it being a gift, as the defendant had 'appropriated' the money
• The elements of theft as defined in section 1 Theft Act 1968 are: Dishonestly, Appropriates, Property, Belonging to another, Intention to permanently deprive the other of it.
• Types of property


  • money (physical existence rather than its value)
  • personal property (any physical property like your mobile phone)
  • real property (land/buildings)
  • intangible property (copyrights/patents)
  • things in action (bank account in credit / shares)
• For it to be a robbery and not a simple theft, force needs to be used at the time of the theft or immediately before it.
• Force


  Can be shoving someone to take their handbag or punching them to take their phone. It is also enough to threaten force such as waving a knife at someone whilst demanding they hand over their wallet.
• Real property: s4(2) provides that land, and things forming part of the land and severed from it (e.g. flowers, picked crops), cannot normally be stolen, except in the circumstances laid down in that section
• The force MUST be used to steal AND be immediately before or at the time of the theft. Once the theft is then complete there is a robbery, as confirmed in the case of Corcoran v Anderton (1840).
• A 'thing in action' (or a 'chose in action') is a technical term describing property that does not exist in a physical sense but which provides the owner with legally enforceable rights
• If the theft is not completed (e.g. the victim keeps hold of the bag and does not let the attackers take it) there is only an attempted robbery.
• In R v Williams (2001), the defendant was convicted of theft of the credit balances in his victim's bank accounts after he dishonestly tricked customers into overpaying him via cheque
• Electricity is treated separately under the Act. It is considered intangible property that cannot be stolen, but if a person (s11) 'dishonestly uses electricity without authority or dishonesty causes it to be wasted or diverted' then they may be liable for an offence
• s.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 (although not in possession of the land) steal what he picks, unless he does it for reward or for sale or other commercial purpose
• s.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 another person and possession of it has not since been lost or abandoned
• In the case of R v Kelly and Lindsay (1998), the court held that although a dead body was not normally property, the body parts in this case could be as their 'essential character and value has changed' by being removed from proper storage and being put in cast
• Property shall be regarded as belonging to any person having possession or control of it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest
• If another person has a proprietary interest in property that a defendant owns and is in possession of, then the defendant can be guilty of stealing it
• S.5 also includes property belonging to someone under civil law and covers mere possession without rights of ownership
• Proprietary right or interest


  The property must 'belong to another' but under s.5 this has a wide meaning. It includes where a person owns the property but also where they have possession or control over it or where they have a proprietary right or interest over it.
• The wide test is a benefit for the prosecution as they do not have to establish who the legal owner is
• Proprietary interest


  If another person has a proprietary interest in property that a defendant owns and is in possession of, then the defendant can be guilty of stealing it
• Section 5


  Includes property belonging to someone under civil law and covers mere possession without rights of ownership
• A person can be liable for stealing their own property
• Actus reus


  The physical act required to commit a crime
• Section 5(3)


  Where a person receives property from, or on account of another, and is under an obligation to the other to retain and deal with that property or its proceeds in a particular way, the property shall be regarded (as against him) as belonging to the other
• Mens rea


  The mental state required to commit a crime
• Section 5(4)


  Property which is passed to the defendant by mistake is to be treated as 'belonging to' the original owner and, therefore, once the defendant realises the mistake and refuses to return the property, a theft takes place. The failure to return the property, on realising the mistake, must be deliberate
• Burglary


  A property offence that distinguishes itself from other property offences