Theft: belonging to another

Overview

Section 5 and the wide meaning of possession or control, stealing one's own property, buried objects and abandoned property, and the special cases in sections 5(3) and 5(4).

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

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1. 1

   How does section 5 of the Theft Act 1968 define belonging to another?

   Model answer

   Section 5 provides that property belongs to any person having possession or control of it. Anyone with a proprietary right or interest in the property is also included.

2. 2

   Can a person steal their own property?

   Model answer

   R v Turner (No 2) [1971] upheld a theft conviction against an owner who drove his own car from a garage. The garage had possession and control at the time.

3. 3

   Does the person in possession have to be the legal owner?

   Model answer

   Possession or control is enough without ownership. A borrower, a hirer and a repairer can all be victims of theft.

4. 4

   Which case held that a landowner controls property buried on the land?

   Model answer

   R v Woodman [1974] held that an occupier controlling a site controls articles on it even without knowing they are there. Scrap metal left on a disused factory site belonged to the occupier.

5. 5

   What is the position where property has been abandoned?

   Model answer

   Abandoned property belongs to nobody and cannot be stolen. Property is abandoned only where the owner has given up all interest in it.

6. 6

   Are goods left outside a closed charity shop abandoned?

   Model answer

   Ricketts v Basildon Magistrates' Court [2010] held that goods left outside a charity shop are not abandoned. The donor intends the shop to have them, so the shop has a proprietary interest.

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