Property Offences: Theft and Robbery

This lesson covers theft and robbery — the core property offences in English criminal law. Theft is defined by the Theft Act 1968, sections 1–6. Robbery (s.8) is essentially theft accompanied by force or the threat of force. You must understand each element of theft in detail, the key case law, and how robbery builds upon theft.

---

Key Terms

Term	Definition
Theft	The dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it (s.1 Theft Act 1968)
Appropriation	Any assumption of the rights of an owner (s.3 Theft Act 1968)
Property	Money, real or personal property, things in action, and other intangible property (s.4 Theft Act 1968)
Belonging to another	Property belongs to any person having possession, control, or any proprietary right or interest in it (s.5 Theft Act 1968)
Dishonesty	The fault element — now assessed using the Ivey test
Intention to permanently deprive	D must intend to treat the property as their own to dispose of regardless of the other's rights (s.6 Theft Act 1968)
Robbery	Theft accompanied by the use or threat of force immediately before or at the time of stealing (s.8 Theft Act 1968)

---

Theft — s.1 Theft Act 1968

Section 1(1) provides:

"A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it."

There are five elements: three forming the actus reus (appropriation, property, belonging to another) and two forming the mens rea (dishonesty, intention to permanently deprive).

Element 1: Appropriation (s.3)

S.3(1): "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."

R v Gomez [1993]

Gomez was an assistant manager at an electrical goods shop. He persuaded the manager to accept stolen cheques as payment for goods. The House of Lords held that an appropriation occurs when any of the rights of the owner are assumed — even with the owner's consent. Lord Keith stated that there could be an appropriation even where the owner consented to the transfer, provided the other elements of theft were present.

Principle: Appropriation is any assumption of any of the rights of the owner. It can occur even with the owner's consent.

R v Hinks [2001]

Hinks was a carer for a man of limited intelligence. Over several months, she accompanied him to his building society where he withdrew money and deposited it into her account — a total of about £60,000. The House of Lords held that there was an appropriation even though the gifts were valid in civil law. An appropriation can occur even where there is a valid gift.

Principle: An appropriation can occur even where the property is transferred as a valid gift. The consent of the owner does not prevent appropriation.

Exam Tip: The combined effect of Gomez and Hinks is that appropriation is an extremely wide concept. Virtually any dealing with property is an appropriation. The other elements (especially dishonesty) do the real work of limiting the scope of theft.

Element 2: Property (s.4)

S.4(1): "'Property' includes money and all other property, real or personal, including things in action and other intangible property."

Most items are clearly property. The key issues relate to what is not property:

Not Property	Authority
Confidential information	Oxford v Moss [1979] — a student who obtained an advance copy of an exam paper was not guilty of theft because confidential information is not "property" within s.4
Land (generally)	s.4(2) — land cannot normally be stolen, with exceptions (e.g., trustees, tenants severing fixtures)
Wild plants (generally)	s.4(3) — picking wild mushrooms, flowers, fruit, or foliage is not theft unless done for sale or other commercial purpose
Wild animals (generally)	s.4(4) — wild animals are not property unless tamed, ordinarily kept in captivity, or reduced into possession

Things in action (choses in action) are property: a bank account balance is a thing in action (a debt owed by the bank to the account holder), and can be stolen.

Element 3: Belonging to Another (s.5)

S.5(1): "Property shall be regarded as belonging to any person having possession or control of it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest."

This is widely defined. Property can "belong to another" even where the defendant owns it:

R v Turner (No 2) [1971]

Turner left his car at a garage for repairs. After the repairs were completed, he used his spare key to drive the car away without paying. He was convicted of theft. Although Turner was the legal owner of the car, the garage had possession and control of it, so the car "belonged to another" for the purposes of s.5.

Principle: Property can "belong to another" even if D is the legal owner, provided another person has possession, control, or a proprietary interest.

S.5(3) — Obligation to deal with property in a particular way: Where D receives property from or on account of another and is under an obligation to retain and deal with it in a particular way, the property is regarded as belonging to the other.

• Davidge v Bunnett [1984]: D was given money by flatmates to pay the gas bill. She spent it on herself. The money "belonged to" the flatmates under s.5(3) because D was under an obligation to deal with it in a particular way.

S.5(4) — Mistaken overpayments: Where D receives property by another's mistake and is under an obligation to make restoration, the property is regarded as belonging to the person entitled to restoration.