The free library01 of 09 Theft & property

Theft

s.1Theft Act 1968

Dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another, intending to permanently deprive them of it.

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Theft · Theft Act 1968, s.1Card 01 / 09

Points to prove

Dishonestly – s.2 sets out when appropriation is not dishonest (belief in a legal right, belief the owner would consent, belief the owner can’t be found by taking reasonable steps). Otherwise the test is Ivey v Genting (2017), confirmed for criminal cases in R v Barton and Booth (2020): what was the defendant’s actual state of knowledge or belief, and was their conduct dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people?
Appropriates – s.3: any assumption of the rights of an owner.
Property – s.4: money and all other property, real or personal, including things in action and other intangible property.
Belonging to another – s.5: anyone having possession or control of it, or any proprietary right or interest.
Intention of permanently depriving – s.6: includes treating the thing as your own to dispose of regardless of the other’s rights.