In criminal law, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting, fraud and sometimes criminal conversion. In some jurisdictions, theft is considered to be synonymous with larceny; in others, theft has replaced larceny.
Someone who carries out an act of or makes a career of theft is known as a thief, and the act of theft is known as stealing, thieving, or sometimes filching.
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The actus reus of theft is usually defined as an unauthorised taking, keeping or using of another's property which must be accompanied by a mens rea of dishonesty and/or the intent to permanently deprive the owner or the person with rightful possession of that property or its use.
For example, if X goes to a restaurant and, by mistake, takes Y's scarf instead of her own, she has physically deprived Y of the use of the property (which is the actus reus) but the mistake prevents X from forming the mens rea (i.e. because she believes that she is the owner, she is not dishonest and does not intend to deprive the "owner" of it) so no crime has been committed at this point. But if she realises the mistake when she gets home and could return the scarf to Y, she will steal the scarf if she dishonestly keeps it. Note that there may be civil liability for the torts of trespass to chattels or conversion in either eventuality.
In English law, theft was codified into a statutory offence in the Theft Act 1968 which defines it as:
The five elements of the offence are defined sequentially in the Act:
The maximum sentence in the Crown Court is seven years (section 7).
If the act of stealing is already complete before another comes into possession of the goods, this may be handling. For alternative charges involving deceptions, see the deception offences and the Theft Act 1978 which may overlap with s1 Theft. For the theft of motor vehicles with or without violence, see robbery, blackmail and TWOC.
Theft is defined at s.72 of the Crimes Act 1958. The actus reus and mens rea are defined as follows:
Appropriation - defined at s.73(4) of the Crimes Act 1958 as the assumption of any of the owners rights. It does not have be all the owner's rights, as long as at least one right has been assumed(Stein v Henshall). If the owner gave their consent to the appropriation there cannot be an appropriation(Baruday v R). However, if this consent is obtained by deception, this consent is vitiated.
Property - defined at s.71(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 as being both tangible property, including money and intangible property. Information has been held not be property(Oxford v Moss).
Belonging to another - s.73(5) that property belongs to another if that person has ownership, possession, or a proprietary interest in the property. Property can belong to more than one person. s.73(9) & s.73(10) deal with situations where the accused receives property under an obligation or by mistake.
Intention to permanently deprive - defined at s.73(12) as treating property as it belongs to the accused, rather than the owner.
Dishonestly - s.73(2) creates a negative definition of the term 'dishonestly'. The section deems only three circumstances when the accused is deemed to have been acting honestly. These are a belief in a legal claim of right (s.73(2)(a)), a belief that the owner would have consented (s.73(2)(b)), or a belief the owner could not be found(s.73(2)(c))
In the U.S., plenary regulation of theft exists only at the state level, in the sense that most thefts by default will be prosecuted by the state in which the theft occurred. The federal government has criminalized certain narrow categories of theft which directly affect federal agencies or interstate commerce.
Although many U.S. states have retained larceny as the primary offence,[1] some have now adopted theft provisions.
For example, California consolidated a variety of common law crimes into theft in 1927, and now distinguishes between two types of theft, grand theft and petty theft.[2] Grand theft generally consists of the theft of something of value over $400 (it can be money, labor or property),[3] while petty theft is the default category for all other thefts.[4] Grand theft is punishable by up to a year in jail or prison, and can either be seen as a misdemeanor or felony.[5] while petty theft is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or six months in jail.[6] As for the older crimes of Embezzlement, Larceny, and stealing, any references to them now mean theft instead.[7]
In many states, grand theft of a vehicle is charged as "grand theft auto" (see motor vehicle theft for more information).
Repeated offenders who continue to steal may become subject to life imprisonment in certain states. [8]
Theft is dealt with by Part 9 of the Criminal Code of Canada which is the part that covers property crime. Section 322 in Part 9 creates a general definition of theft, while other sections such as section 326 (which deals with the theft of gas, electricity and telecommunication services) define special kinds of theft. According to the general definition in section 322 a person steals a thing if he or she takes or converts it fraudulently, without colour of right and with intent to deprive the owner of it, either permanently or temporarily. For the purposes of punishment theft is divided into two separate offences by section 334 depending on the value and nature of the goods stolen. If the thing stolen is worth more than $5000 or is a testamentary instrument the offence is commonly referred to as Theft Over $5000 and is an indictable offence with a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment. Where the stolen item is not a testamentary instrument and is not worth more than $5000 it is known as Theft Under $5000 and is a hybrid offence, meaning that it can be treated either as an indictable offence or a less serious summary conviction offence, depending on the choice of the prosecutor. If dealt with as an indictable offence Theft Under $5000 is punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years and, if treated as a summary conviction offence, 6 months imprisonment, a fine of $2000 or both.
In the British West Indies, especially Grenada, there have been a spate of large-scale thefts of tons of sand from beaches.[9] Both Grenada and Jamaica are considering increasing fines and jail time for the thefts.[9]
By the Romanian Penal Code for theft (furt) a person can face a penalty ranging from 1 to 20 years.
Degrees of theft:
A: Theft (1 to 12
years)
When a person steals a thing, or uses a vehicle without permission
and no aggravating circumstances applies.
B: Qualified theft (basically 3 to 15 years but there can be special cases when penalty range is from 4 to 18 years and even 10 to 20 years)
Specific forms of theft
Quotes from or about Thief, an electronic game series. See Thievery for quotes about the crime, or Thief (arcade game) for the coin-op video game.
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Keeper Artemus: That's not for you.
Garrett: Please sir, I'm hungry, don't tell the Hammers, I promise...
Keeper Artemus: What is your name, boy?
Garrett: Garrett.
Keeper Artemus: You have talent lad.
Garrett: Let go of me old man!
Keeper Artemus: To see a Keeper is not an easy thing, especially one who does not wish to be seen. We have a need for those as gifted as yourself. If you've grown tired of how you live, come with me and we will show you a different way.
Garrett: Leave me alone!
Keeper Artemus: As you wish.
I caught up with him just before he vanished into the crowd. It was the beginning of a very long education."
"A secret room... always my favourite room in a house" City Day 2/Seaside Manor
"Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to find Gamall's lair, learn what she wants your treasure for, and find and destroy this final glyph? Anything else?" Day 8/Still Life with Blackjack
"What is locked - can be opened. What is hidden - can be found. What is yours - can be mine." Thief 3 Trailer
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There are three games in the series
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Punished by restitution, the proportions of which are noted in 2 Sam 12:6. If the thief could not pay the fine, he was to be sold to a Hebrew master till he could pay (Ex 22:1ff). A night-thief might be smitten till he died, and there would be no blood-guiltiness for him (Ex 22:2). A man-stealer was to be put to death (Ex 21:16). All theft is forbidden (Ex 20:15; Ex 21:16; Lev 19:11; Deut 5:19; Deut 24:7; Ps 5018; Zech 5:3; Mt 19:18; Rom 13:9; Eph 4:28; 1 Pet 4:15).
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