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Theft, robbery, burglary, fraud and criminal damage — SQE1 Criminal question

A worked single-best-answer question on theft, robbery, burglary, fraud and criminal damage, with why each wrong option is wrong — the way SQE1 traps candidates.

Theft, robbery, burglary, fraud and criminal damage

Abby lent her racing bicycle to her former partner, who sold it to Ben, a stranger who paid full value in good faith. Months later Abby saw the bicycle chained outside Ben's flat. Honestly believing that the bicycle still belonged to her and that she was entitled to take it back, she cut the lock and rode it away. Most people would regard it as unreasonable to cut someone else's lock rather than go to the police. Abby is charged with theft of the bicycle.

Which of the following best describes whether Abby was dishonest?

  1. AAbby was dishonest, because the jury must apply the standards of ordinary decent people to her conduct.
  2. BAbby was dishonest, because her belief that she was entitled to take the bicycle was unreasonable.
  3. CAbby was not dishonest, because she appropriated the bicycle in the belief that she had a legal right to deprive Ben of it.
  4. DAbby was dishonest, because Ben was the owner of the bicycle at the time she took it.
  5. EAbby was not dishonest, because she intended to return the lock's value to Ben.
Show answer and reasoning
C is the best answer. A person's appropriation of property is not to be regarded as dishonest if she appropriates it in the belief that she has in law the right to deprive the other of it (Theft Act 1968, s 2(1)(a)). The belief need only be honestly held, not reasonable. The general test in Ivey v Genting applies only where s 2 does not resolve the issue.

Rule: An appropriation is not dishonest if the defendant honestly believes she has a legal right to deprive the other of the property, whether or not the belief is reasonable.

  • A The Ivey test applies only where s 2(1) does not provide the answer; here s 2(1)(a) applies. (wrong rule)
  • B Under s 2(1)(a) the belief need only be genuine, not reasonable. (wrong rule)
  • D Ownership by Ben goes to whether property belonged to another, not to whether Abby was dishonest. (answers a different question)
  • E Nothing in the facts supports this, and it is her belief in a legal right to the bicycle that negates dishonesty. (right rule, wrong facts)

Source: Theft Act 1968, s 2(1)(a); Ivey v Genting Casinos [2017] UKSC 67

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