Criminal Law - Theft, Fraud, Robbery, and Burglary
Theft - s.1 Theft Act 1968
N.B. all 5 elements below must be present at the same time
- MR (dishonesty and intention to permanently deprive) must occur when AR
(appropriation of property belonging to another) occurs - DPP v Ray
AR: appropriating property belonging to another
- Appropriating
- S.3(1) TA 1968 - ‘Any assumption by a person of the rights of an
owner...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.’ - DPP v Gomez
- Morris - only have to assume one of the rights of an owner for
appropriation
- Lawrence - whether the owner consented to the act is irrelevant
- Appropriation includes the giving of a gift (Hinks)
- Limitations of appropriation:
- ‘Appropriation’ must connote a physical act from D, not a more
remote action that triggered a payment - Briggs (D persuading Vs
to transfer to vendors of a new house but actually transferring
money to D. This was fraud instead).
- Cannot appropriate property more than once - Atakpu
- Facts:
- Ds found in Dover driving cars stolen abroad using
false documents
- Issue:
- Appropriation cannot occur more than once
- Held:
- Theft occurred when cars hired, as this is when they
were appropriated
- Could not be charged with theft again as property
cannot be appropriated twice
- AR (appropriation) missing, convictions quashed
- Obiter - appropriation CAN be continuous, and it is
up to the jury to decide using common sense when
appropriation ends
, - s.3(2) TA 1968 - Statutory exception - genuine purchasers acting in
good faith
- D acquires property ‘for value’
- Must pay for property (doesn't have to be with cash)
- AND D acting ‘in good faith’
- No doubts about the legality of the transaction, and
believed the seller was acting entirely properly.
- Property
- s.4(1) TA 1968 - ‘included money and all other property, real or personal,
including things in action and other intangible property’
- Money
- Cash - any currency
- Real property
- Land and things attached to it, only in the following
circumstances - s.4(2) TA 1968:
- When D is trustee or personal representative, has
power of attorney, liquidator of a company, and sells
land belonging to another and appropriates land or
anything forming part of it in breach of the confidence
bestowed on them
- D not in possession of land and appropriates part of it
by severing it or causing it to be severed
- D in possession of land under a tenancy, and
appropriates whole/part if any fixture or structure fixed
to the land
- E.g. when a tenant leaves, they take the
greenhouse (structure) or shelving (fixture)
- Wild plants and flowers (s.4(3) TA 1968)
- Only count as property for purposes of s.1(1) TA 1968
stealing if done so for a commercial purpose (sale,
reward)
- Wild creatures (s.4(4) TA 1968)
- Can only be stolen if usually kept under the
possession of another (e.g. in a zoo) or has been
reduced into one’s possession (e.g. trapped/hunted)
- Personal property
- All tangible objects that don’t fall under ‘real property’,
including cars, clothes, and prohibited drugs unlawfully in
complainant's possession (R v Smith, Plummer and Haines)
- Things in action
Theft - s.1 Theft Act 1968
N.B. all 5 elements below must be present at the same time
- MR (dishonesty and intention to permanently deprive) must occur when AR
(appropriation of property belonging to another) occurs - DPP v Ray
AR: appropriating property belonging to another
- Appropriating
- S.3(1) TA 1968 - ‘Any assumption by a person of the rights of an
owner...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.’ - DPP v Gomez
- Morris - only have to assume one of the rights of an owner for
appropriation
- Lawrence - whether the owner consented to the act is irrelevant
- Appropriation includes the giving of a gift (Hinks)
- Limitations of appropriation:
- ‘Appropriation’ must connote a physical act from D, not a more
remote action that triggered a payment - Briggs (D persuading Vs
to transfer to vendors of a new house but actually transferring
money to D. This was fraud instead).
- Cannot appropriate property more than once - Atakpu
- Facts:
- Ds found in Dover driving cars stolen abroad using
false documents
- Issue:
- Appropriation cannot occur more than once
- Held:
- Theft occurred when cars hired, as this is when they
were appropriated
- Could not be charged with theft again as property
cannot be appropriated twice
- AR (appropriation) missing, convictions quashed
- Obiter - appropriation CAN be continuous, and it is
up to the jury to decide using common sense when
appropriation ends
, - s.3(2) TA 1968 - Statutory exception - genuine purchasers acting in
good faith
- D acquires property ‘for value’
- Must pay for property (doesn't have to be with cash)
- AND D acting ‘in good faith’
- No doubts about the legality of the transaction, and
believed the seller was acting entirely properly.
- Property
- s.4(1) TA 1968 - ‘included money and all other property, real or personal,
including things in action and other intangible property’
- Money
- Cash - any currency
- Real property
- Land and things attached to it, only in the following
circumstances - s.4(2) TA 1968:
- When D is trustee or personal representative, has
power of attorney, liquidator of a company, and sells
land belonging to another and appropriates land or
anything forming part of it in breach of the confidence
bestowed on them
- D not in possession of land and appropriates part of it
by severing it or causing it to be severed
- D in possession of land under a tenancy, and
appropriates whole/part if any fixture or structure fixed
to the land
- E.g. when a tenant leaves, they take the
greenhouse (structure) or shelving (fixture)
- Wild plants and flowers (s.4(3) TA 1968)
- Only count as property for purposes of s.1(1) TA 1968
stealing if done so for a commercial purpose (sale,
reward)
- Wild creatures (s.4(4) TA 1968)
- Can only be stolen if usually kept under the
possession of another (e.g. in a zoo) or has been
reduced into one’s possession (e.g. trapped/hunted)
- Personal property
- All tangible objects that don’t fall under ‘real property’,
including cars, clothes, and prohibited drugs unlawfully in
complainant's possession (R v Smith, Plummer and Haines)
- Things in action
