Theft offences

Theft offences

The most common offences prosecuted under the Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968) are:

•
theft—TA 1968, ss 1–7
•
false accounting—TA 1968, s 17
•
burglary—TA 1968, s 9
•
handling stolen goods—TA 1968, s 22
•
robbery—TA 1968, s 8, and
•
blackmail—TA 1968, s 21

These offences are triable in the magistrates' court or Crown Court, with the exception of robbery, which must be tried on indictment in the Crown Court.

There are also other offences outside of TA 1968 which involve a theft or stealing of some kind.

Dishonesty in the criminal law

Stealing offences, such as theft, burglary and robbery are all classified as 'dishonesty' offences. This means that they require proof of actual dishonesty as part of the mens rea element of the offence.

'Dishonesty' is not defined in the TA 1968. The decision as to whether or not a defendant is dishonest lies with the jury or magistrates. When dishonesty is in question, the fact-finding tribunal must first ascertain (subjectively) the actual state of the individual’s

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