Concise Notes on the Law of Theft include:
Definition: Theft is the unlawful taking of someone else's property with the intent to permanently deprive them of it.
Key Elements:
Appropriation: Unauthorized control or possession of property.
Intent: Intent to permanently deprive the owner.
Wi...
Theft is defined in S.1(1) of the 1968 Theft Act, as “dishonestly appropriating property belonging to
another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.”
Appropriation
To appropriate means to assume any rights of ownership over the property in question. It does not
mean that all rights of ownership are assumed. Rights could include selling the property, destroying
it, possessing it, consuming it, using it, hiring it out, etc. In the case of Pitham and Hehl, the D had
put up an offer to sell, which was solely the right of the owner. Switching labels on items in a shop
can be seen as appropriation, as seen in Morris. Appropriation can even take place when consent is
given. This was seen in Lawrence, when a taxi driver took more money than he needed when a
foreign student offered her open purse to pay for the fare. As well as this, a right can be assumed,
this is when the defendant, for example, borrows something, but then later decides not to return it.
The appropriation in this case occurs at the points where the defendant decides to keep the item.
Appropriation can only occur at one point in time, Atakpu and Abrahams.
Property
S.4(1) of the Theft Act states that ‘property includes money and all other property, real or personal,
including things in action and other intangible property.” Money includes coins and notes and
personal property is physical moveable objects. Real property refers to land and buildings. Things in
action allow the owner to enforce rights in law. Examples can include tickets for the theatre,
copyrights and cheques, amongst others. Finally, other intangible property refers to other non-
physical things which can be stolen. This can include export quotas, as seen in A-G of Hong Kong v
Chan Nai-Keung. But doesn’t extend to simply knowing the questions on an exam paper, as seen in
Oxford v Moss. However, S.4(3) states that any wild fruits or foliage etc growing on land cannot be
stolen unless taken for it to be sold; S.4(4) states that wild animals cannot be stolen but can be
classed as property. Electricity cannot be stolen, but there is a separate offence for this under S.11
Belonging to another
S.5(1) of the Theft Act
Belonging To Another means in someone else’s possession or control. The owner of property has
possession or control of it. The possession or control may be transferred to another party, for
example, the case of Turner, who stole back his car from the repair garage, before paying for the
work done. The car was temporarily under the possession and control of the garage, so he could be
found guilty of the theft of his own car. The Theft Act 1968 also states that that where a person
receives property by mistake and is under an obligation to return the property a failure to restore
the property will also amount to theft.
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