Would you consider this theft or a public service?

It may be theft, it may not, depending on a few points, and I don't want to go into it all as I'll be here all day.
Do you know who it belongs to, more importantly do you know if they would allow you to take it or not? Abandoned you say? But it is secured with a padlock not simply dumped in the street, how do you know that said owner won't come back for it? Theft is a lot more complex than just taking something, and no it doesn't need to be reported to class as stolen.



By and large, if you can take it to a police station without damaging it to remove it then report it as lost property and if its not claimed you will be allowed to take it.

Originally Posted by Ruthja2801

I would of thought someone i.e the owner would need to report it stolen for it to 'be stolen'!!!

You would have thought wrong.

I'd take it.

if you "TAKE" a car and the ownere doesnt notice, thats still theft.

however if its been there ages and abandoned id have it away, but, is a chain thats been weathering for 2 years really worth the bother??

[Spiderman]

Originally Posted by Supervox

Me - recycling

Law - probably theft

Me - recycling

Law - vague on this believe it or not. From my security days i can tell you this much...the Theft Act defines theft as "to deprive the owner of his/her goods with the intention to permanently deprive"

That is why the laws of Taking Without Owners Consent etc were introduced cos you can always say you took the chain as it was an eyesore and you were keeping it safely for the owner until he returned. Never at any time did you intend to deprive him of this chain permanently, you simply took it away for safe keeping and on seeing the owner you would have rushed out to him and told him you had his chain.

hence you have commited no offence...except for criminal damage of course where you cut the lock off but again if you offer to replace the lock the you have not commited an offence

Also any sane cop (if you can find any that is) will agree that 2 yrs is an unreasonable amount of time to leave something as an eyesore and clearly the owner has no intention to return to collect it anyway so you simply did a community spirited thing

I'm glad most of you went for option b as someone had already taken a grinder to it! I can't see somoene handing in to the police to look after for three months however.

Originally Posted by Spiderman

...the Theft Act defines theft as "to deprive the owner of his/her goods with the intention to permanently deprive"

Close but this would not win you Bully's Star Prize tonight. Theft Act 1968 - "A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and ‘theft’ and ‘steal’ shall be construed accordingly." Not far off though

Originally Posted by Spiderman

That is why the laws of Taking Without Owners Consent etc were introduced cos you can always say you took the chain as it was an eyesore and you were keeping it safely for the owner until he returned. Never at any time did you intend to deprive him of this chain permanently, you simply took it away for safe keeping and on seeing the owner you would have rushed out to him and told him you had his chain.

Again very close, but TWOC is about motor vehicles, basically joy-riding, chains do not come under it. Intent is the main key here.

Originally Posted by Spiderman

hence you have commited no offence...except for criminal damage of course where you cut the lock off but again if you offer to replace the lock the you have not commited an offence

It is still an offence of criminal damage, whether you offer to replace it or not.

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Also any sane cop (if you can find any that is) will agree that 2 yrs is an unreasonable amount of time to leave something as an eyesore and clearly the owner has no intention to return to collect it anyway so you simply did a community spirited thing

You are probably right, a little discretion goes a long way, but if someone does claim to own it and reports it gone then you are going to get a knock on the door. Though its just an old chain and probably is abandoned in all likelyhood.

How can anyone prove that you took it?
Just get the padlock off, lift the chain and hey presto..

Meh, after 2 years outside, really worth the effort?

Are you sure the chain isnt there to stop someone stealing the shelter?

(obviously not because its probably not chained to something else - but couldn't resist )

Oh I remember writing undergraduate essays on the Theft Act for dear old Mr Rayburn, this is Manchester Poly 1983. The Act was supposed to tidy up the old common law of larceny but in fact it introduced even more complications as the prosecutor has to prove all six of the constituent parts. If you nick a can of beans from Tescos it's easy, but in this case I think that 'belonging to another' would cause difficulty. After all that time the owner has abandoned all ownership rights to the extent that it could not be said to be 'belonging to another'. Agree with PC Carlos therefore

Originally Posted by teriyakimonkey

I'm glad most of you went for option b as someone had already taken a grinder to it! I can't see somoene handing in to the police to look after for three months however.

Lol i don't think that SOMEONE has anything to worry about TBH