Criminal Damage Flashcards
(47 cards)
Where is the basic offence for criminal damage found?
Section 1(1) Criminal Damage Act 1971
What is the actus reus?
Damage to property belonging to another.
What is the mens rea?
Intention or recklessness as to the damage or destruction of property belonging to another without lawful excuse.
Which case establishes damage need not be permanent?
Hardman v Chief Constable of Avon
What was held to be criminal damage in Roe v Kingerlee?
Mud spread on police cell walls
What was not criminal damage in A (a juvenile) v R?
Spitting on a policeman’s coat
In which case did the court refuse to lay down a general rule defining criminal damage?
Samuels v Stubbs
Which cases established and confirmed that criminal damage is a matter of fact and degree to be determined by justices applying common-sense?
Established in Roe v Kingerlee. Confirmed in Morphitis v Salmon.
In which case did the court hold that criminal damage includes ‘not only permanent of temporary physical harm but also permanent or temporary impairment of value or usefulness’?
Morphitis v Salmon
Which section of the statute defines property?
s10(1) Criminal Damage Act 1971
How does the Criminal Damage Act define property?
Tangible items, real or personal, including money and wild creatures which have been tamed (s10(1)(a)).
What is not property according s10(1)(b)?
Mushrooms, flowers, fruit or foliage growing wild on any land.
According to R v Whitely what else is not property?
Information
Which section of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 defines ‘belonging to another’?
s10(2)-(4)
What is meant by ‘belonging to another’?
s10(2)(a) having custody or control, (b) having proprietary right or interest (not equitable interest arising from agreement to transfer or grant), (c) having a charge on it.
s10(3) persons who have a right to enforce a trust.
s10(4) corporate property belongs to the corporation.
Why did D have his conviction quashed in R v Smith?
S had smashed wall panels, floorboards and roofing which he had installed in to his rented accommodation. He was held to have honestly mistaken the property for his own.
Which sections of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 deal with ‘without lawful excuse’?
s5(2)-(3)
When does s5(2)(a) CDA 1971 operate?
When D believes the owner would have consented to the damage.
How does s5(3) qualify s5(2)(a)?
s5(3) says D’s belief that the owner would have consented need not be reasonable as long as it is honestly held.
Is motive relevant when considering criminal damage which D believed the owner was consented to? Give an authority.
No. In R v Denton, D, an employee, set fire to a factory after the owner suggested a fire might improve the business.
What happened in Jaggard v Dickinson?
D broke a window of a neighbour’s house after a returning from a drunken night out. She thought that the house belonged to her friend. She was allowed the defence in s5(2)(a). Despite her intoxication she held the belief honestly (s5(3)).
How did the defendant justify his actions in Blake v DPP? How did the court respond?
D, a vicar, defended writing scripture in marker pen on the Houses of Parliament by arguing that God consented. The court held that God-given consent was not a lawful excuse despite however powerful, genuine and honestly held that belief was held.
When does s5(2)(b) operate?
When D acts to protect their own or another’s property.
How did the s5(2)(b) defence fail in R v Baker and Wilkins?
The defence only relates to the protection of property. A mother kicked in a door to rescue her child from a perceived threat by her estranged husband. The court held that the child did not constitute property.
