1. 2.6 CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY AND RELATED DEFENCES

2. KEY CONCEPT: ALTHOUGH OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON ARE THE ONES THAT DRAW MOST MEDIA ATTENTION, MANY OF US ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE VICTIMS OR OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY. THEFT, ROBBERY, BURGLARY ARE SOME OF THE MORE COMMON OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY  Key terms you need to know!  Theft  Robbery  Burglary  Identity crime

3. THEFT  Under the Crimes Act 1958, theft is defined as a person dishonestly appropriating property that belongs to another with the intention of depriving that person of it  However, it is not theft if it is believed that the person taking the property has a right to deprive the other person of it, on behalf of himself or a third person, or if someone appropriates property believing that he or she would have the other’s consent if that person was aware of the appropriation

4. ROBBERY AND BURGLARY  Robbery is when a person uses force or puts any person in fear that he or she will use force in the course of stealing something  A person found guilty of robbery may be liable for a 15 year maximum jail term  If the offender is using a weapon while threatening the victim, then this increase the charge to armed robbery  Burglary occurs when a person unlawfully enters a building with the intention of stealing or committing an offence  The offence may involve assaulting a person in the building or damaging the building or property *school vs students  A person charged with burglary could be sentences to 5 years imprisonment, if these persons do so armed with a weapon, the charge of aggravated burglary will also apply  Possible defences to robbery and burglary include those already covered, including duress, necessity, intoxication and lact of intent  Two other defences are a factual dispute – where the defendant claims that the fact put forward by the prosecution are wrong and that the prosecution’s evidence does not prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt  And mistaken identity – where the defendant claims that there is a case of mistaken identity and that the person seen committing the crime by witnesses was actually someone else. CASE STUDY PAGE 59

5. CRIME AGAINST PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY  Criminals are committing the same types of crimes as they always have, it is just that the use of technology has changed how these crimes are committed  One crime that has flourished with technology is identity crime  Identity crime means that someone uses a false identity to commit a crime  It may include possessing equipment to make identification documentation, or making use or, or supplying, identification information  Crimes that are committed under a false identity might, for example, involve using someone else’s credit card to purchase goods or illegally accessing someone’s bank account