Investigative Skills: Going Equipped for Stealing (PDF)

Police College INV08 INV08 Investigative Skills Going Equipped for Stealing Introduction This legislation has been set up as a crime prevention measure. It is aimed at the carrying of implements that a person intends to u...

Police College INV08 INV08 Investigative Skills Going Equipped for Stealing Introduction This legislation has been set up as a crime prevention measure. It is aimed at the carrying of implements that a person intends to use to commit specified crimes. The items to which this section applies can be searched for under Article 3-5 of PACE (NI) Order 1989, provided the grounds etc. for the search exist. A person shall be guilty of an offence if, when not at his place of abode, he has with him any article for use in the course of, or in connection with, any burglary or theft. Section 24(1) Theft Act (NI) 1969 Points to prove and examples ‘if when not at his/her place of abode’: A person’s place of abode is his home. It must be proved that the person was ‘not at his place of abode’; in most cases this will be straightforward. The only difficulty which might occur is in relation to vehicles, guidance in these circumstances is taken from R v Bundy. In 1977 when Dennis Bundy was stopped by police in his car, he had with him some piping, a hammer, a pipe threader and three pieces of stocking. He had been driving around following a woman who was collecting the takings from vending machines in London pubs with the apparent intention of robbing her. He was convicted of going equipped for theft when not at his place of abode. Bundy appealed on the grounds that, since he lived rough in his car, it was his abode. OFFICIAL [SENSITIVE] Page 73  Police College INV08 INV08 But in dismissing the appeal, the court held that his car was his place of abode only when after finding a site he had parked for the night, not when he was in transit. In this case it was decided that were a person drives and lives in the same vehicle it will only be their abode when it is parked at a site where they intend to remain. 'He/she has with him’: This expression is more restrictive than ‘possesses’, there must be actual possession, or Immediately available. The magistrate or jury will decide if an article is immediately available but a general indicator would be the person’s position in relation to the article - how far away it is and how easily he can get it. ‘Any article for use in the course of’: The article a person can have with him can be anything from a screwdriver to a set of skeleton keys. It must be proved that the article was to be used in the course or connection with the offences listed. There is no need to show their use in a particular offence just an intention to commit an offence in the future. There are three categories of articles: Made (a skeleton key). Adapted (sharpened screwdriver, pin from a fire extinguisher with tape around it). Intended (bolt cutters, jemmy, lighter to heat glass). Where an article is made or adapted the court will look upon this as evidence of the person’s intent. The onus is on the accused to provide the court with an innocent explanation. Where an article is not made or adapted, but only intended for use in the offence, the onus is on the police and prosecution to prove the person’s intent with other evidence. OFFICIAL [SENSITIVE] Page 74  Police College INV08 INV08 The article that the offender has with them must be intended to be used in the course/connection with the specified offences. A person found with an article after the offence is not guilty of this offence unless you can prove it was to be used in another future offence. ‘Any burglary or theft’: See lesson notes on burglary and theft for explanation of these offences. The following offences shall be treated as theft for the purpose of going equipped. Taking a motor vehicle without consent (Article 172 Road Traffic (NI) Order 1981) Taking a conveyance without consent (Section 12 Theft (NI) Act 1969) OFFICIAL [SENSITIVE] Page 75