FLK2 · Criminal Liability

Theft & related offences

SQE1 revision notes — the key rules, leading cases and common traps for this topic, in plain English and current to 2026.

CRL.05 — Theft & Related Offences

Theft (Theft Act 1968 s.1)

Dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another with intention to permanently deprive. Three actus reus elements + two mens rea elements; all five required.

Appropriation (s.3): assuming any right of an owner. Can occur with consent (Lawrence; Gomez) and even where title passes by gift (Hinks). A single instant suffices.
Property (s.4): money, real and personal property, things in action. Land generally cannot be stolen (limited exceptions). Wild plants/animals only in narrow circumstances. Confidential information is NOT property (Oxford v Moss).
Belonging to another (s.5): possession or control, or any proprietary right. You can steal your own property (Turner (No.2)). Section 5(3): where D receives property from or on account of another and owes that person an obligation to retain and deal with the property or its proceeds in a particular way, it is treated, as against D, as belonging to that person. Distinguish an obligation governing those funds or their proceeds from a mere debt or contractual promise to pay an equivalent sum from any source. A payment for a stated purpose does not by itself establish the required obligation. In the travel-agent case R v Hall, the contractual duty to arrange the trips did not, on the facts, establish a duty to retain and deal with the customers' funds in a particular way. The arrangement matters: payment into a general trading account is not by itself decisive. Where it applies, s.5(3) establishes only the belonging-to-another element, not all the elements of theft. s.5(4): property got by another's mistake with a legal obligation to restore (A-G's Ref (No.1 of 1983)).
Dishonesty: s.2 lists three things that are NOT dishonest (genuine belief in legal right; belief owner would consent; belief owner cannot be found by reasonable steps). Willingness to pay is not a defence. Otherwise apply Ivey v Genting (objective standard; Ghosh's second limb abolished — Barton & Booth confirms).
Intention to permanently deprive (s.6): includes treating the thing as one's own to dispose of regardless of the owner's rights; borrowing only if equivalent to outright taking (e.g. returning an item drained of value).

Robbery (s.8)

Theft + force (or putting/seeking to put a person in fear of force) immediately before or at the time of stealing, in order to steal. No completed theft = no robbery. Force can be minimal (R v Dawson and James); even a nudge counts. Force on property transmitted to a person can suffice (Clouden). Maximum: life.

Burglary (s.9)

s.9(1)(a): entry as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict GBH, or cause criminal damage (ulterior intent at entry).
s.9(1)(b): having entered as a trespasser, steals/attempts to steal or inflicts/attempts GBH (intent formed after entry). Entry must be effective (Brown; Ryan). Exceeding permission makes one a trespasser (Jones & Smith). Aggravated burglary (s.10): carrying firearm, weapon of offence, or explosive at the time.

Common traps

Theft is a conduct crime — no need to gain or deprive in fact.
Conditional intent still supports attempted theft/burglary.
Don't confuse fraud (false representation, FA 2006) with theft.
Robbery requires force to steal; force after the theft is complete is not robbery.

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A woman is the treasurer of a small amateur football club. Members pay £20 each month in cash. Under the club rules she accepted on becoming treasurer, she must bank the subscriptions into the club's dedicated account within seven days. One month she receives £200 in subscriptions and spends the cash on her own gas bill that same day. She intends to replace the money from her wages before anyone notices, and pays an equivalent £200 into the club account two weeks later. Which statement best explains how section 5(3) of the Theft Act 1968 applies to the subscriptions when she pays the gas bill?

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