Chapter 8: Criminal Damage Offences

• Criminal damage


  A defendant commits criminal damage if they, without lawful excuse, destroy or damage property belonging to another intending to do so or being reckless as to whether that property is destroyed or damaged
• Damage


  • Can include situations where damage is slight or can be repaired easily
  • Usually, the damage will impair the usefulness or value of the item or will involve effort or expense to repair
• Damage


  • D paints the pavement with water-soluble paints, which easily washes away in the rain. The council decide to clean it. This would still amount to criminal damage
• Property


  • Damage can be caused only to physical property
  • Wild plants and fungi are specifically excluded
• Property


  • A person cannot be guilty of criminal damage of their own property
  • If property is owned by the defendant and another together, the defendant can commit the offence of criminal damage
• Property


  • D and A co-own a car. D hits the co-owned car with a golf club. D can be guilty of criminal damage
• Mens rea


  • The defendant must intend to destroy or damage the property or be reckless as to whether the item will be damaged
  • The defendant must know or believe that the item belongs to another
• Mens rea


  • D removes wire from a building, believing that the wire is theirs because they installed it. In fact, the wire now belongs to their landlord. D would not be guilty of the criminal damage as they did not know or believe that the wire belonged to the landlord and not to them
• Defences


  • A defendant will have a defence to criminal damage if they believe: That the owner did or would have consented to the damage; or That the property is in immediate need of protection, and that the means of protection adopted are reasonable having regard to all the circumstances
• Defences


  • D breaks a window in their friend's house to get in when they have forgotten their key. If D honestly believes that their friend would consent to the broken window, they will not be guilty of criminal damage, regardless of whether the friend would actually have consented or whether the belief is reasonably held
• Aggravated criminal damage


  Mirrors the basic offence of criminal damage, subject to three key differences: The property damaged can belong to the defendant or to someone else; There is an additional mens rea requirement that the defendant must intend or be reckless as to the endangerment of life by the damage caused to the property; The specific defences listed above do not apply
• Note that life need not actually be endangered
• Arson


  Arson is criminal damage by fire, and aggravated arson is aggravated criminal damage by fire. All the above elements of criminal damage or aggravated damage must be satisfied, and the fire must cause the damage. If property is simply damaged by smoke and not fire, the offence will be one of criminal damage and not arson