Motor Vehicle Without consent Flashcards
What offence is committed when joyriding takes place
Twoc or TDA (Taking and driving away)
What section of what act is taking without consent contained in? and what type of offence is this and the penalty for this offence
Section 12 of the Theft Act 1968. It is a summary only offence and carries a maximum of 6 months imprisoment and/or unlimited fine. The magistrates can impose discretionary disqualifaction
How is Taking without consent define in section 12
Any person shall be guilty of an offence if, without having the consent of an owener or other lawful authority, he takes any conveyance for his own or another use, or knowing that the conveyance has been taken without such authority, or he drives it or allows himself to be carried in it
What are the 3 different way the offence can be committed
- Without having the consent of the owner or other lawful authority he takes any conveyance for his own or another use.
- Knowing that a conveyance has been taken without such authority
- He drives it or allows himself to be carried in it.
What happens if someone else takes the car and the defendant knows this
If the defendant drives the vehicle or travels in it as a passenger then the offence is equally committed.
What are the elements common to each version of the offence of taking a vehicle without consent and explain them
- Taking ( this involves the possession or control of the vehicle plus movement of the vehicle)
- Conveyance ( a conveyance is any motorised vehicle capable of carrying at least one person. It doesn’t matter whether the conveyance us designed to run on a road, railcar or water. They are all covered by the same offence)
- For own or another use ( it is required that the vehicle is taken for use as a conveyance. Stokes (1983) the car in question was pushed around for a joke therefore it was deemed not to have been taken for use as a conveyance)
- without consent/lawful authority (If the owner of the vehicle gives consent for it to be used, then no offence is committed. Consent is not necessarily viated by fraud. Whittaker v Cambell 19830- look at this case)
- Belief that the Owner consents
What are the Elements relating to the specific versions of events.
Driving/taking (if a car is taken and then abandoned, a further taking of it by another person amounts to a new offence of taking without consent. To be guilty of driving the vehicle the defendant must be seated in the drivers seat or otherwise in control of the vehicle steering wheel and have something to do with the movement of the vehicle)
-Allowing to be carried ( There must have been some movement of the conveyance. A person is not guilty of the offence if they simply sit in a stolen car.
Knowing taken without authority (for either driving or allowing to be carried the defendant must ‘know’ that the vehicle has been taken without consent. If the charge is that the defendant allowed himself to be carried the prosecution must prove he knew that the vehicle was taken without consent during his actual carriage in the vehicle. if a passenger becomes aware during the journey that the vehicle is taken without consent, then he would not be guilty of an offence at that stage. In these circumstances the passenger should get out of the car at the earliest opportunity, and if he failed to do so then he would guilty of an offence from that point on.
What is the sentencing for this offence?
Summary only offence carrying a maximum of 6 months imprisonment and/or unlimited fine
How else can TDA be made out?
If you drive outside of an agreed limitation
What are the sentencing guidelines for taking a vehicle without consent
Step 1 The court should determine the offence category e.g Cat 1, Cat 2, Cat 3.
Step 2 Having determined the category at step one, the court should use the appropriate starting point to reach a sentence within the category range
What sentencing is used for each category
Category 1- starting point: High level community order Range : Medium level community order – 26 weeks’ custody Consider disqualification 9 to 12 months (Extend if imposing immediate custody)
Category 2 starting point: Medium level community orde range: Low level community order – High level community order Disqualification: Consider disqualification 5 to 8 months
Category 3- Starting point:Low level community order Range: Band B fine – Medium level community order disqualification: Consider disqualification
What should the court consider when issuing a fine
section 125 of the Sentencing Code, which requires that the fine must reflect the seriousness of the offence and that the court must take into account the financial circumstances of the offender.
should remove any economic benefit the offender has derived through the commission of the offence
Where it is not possible to calculate or estimate the economic benefit, the court may wish to draw on information from the enforcing authorities about the general costs of operating within the law.
the fine should meet, in a fair and proportionate way, the objectives of punishment, deterrence and the removal of gain derived through the commission of the offence
priority should be given to compensation (where applicable) over payment of any other financial penalty.
look at sentencing guidelines for more
what is a crucial defence for taking a motor vehicle without consent
the suspect/defendant believes the owner would have consented had he or she known about the circumstances of the taking.
Important to ask= have you driven the car before, are you insured, what led yip to believe you had the owners consent.
so long as the belief is genuinely held he mat be given the benefit of the doubt.
What does the theft act s.12 say?
A person shall be guilty of an offence if, without having the consent of the owner or other lawful authority, he takes any conveyance for his own or another use, or, knowing that any conveyance has been taken without such authority, he drives it or allows himself to be carried or on it.
