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Theft and related offences

Has anyone else become a professional thief since going to uni?

I have :frown:

It's become a normal, everyday thing for me now.

I wouldn't steal from another student, someones home or a shop though, just to clarify.

The key to student theft is to be original I feel. What's all this contrived shiz about students stealing For Sale signs and traffic cones. Like, eww. Be creative.

I've stolen a bamboo plant from a restaurant, a crystal wine glass also from a restaurant, a leather foot stool from a club, a mirror, a Big Mac from McDonalds (they left the kitchen door open...quick in and out woo!) and many other things including almost a whole tea-services' worth of Starbucks and Costa Coffee cups.

It's great, but I don't wana get caught and prosecuted because then I wouldn't ever get to be a lawyer :frown:

So what's the best thing you've stolen as a student?

Reply 1

sunday

haha! Me and a friend are actually worried by how easy we find it to steal, and we're not in uni yet! So far its been fancy dress/glowsticks for clubbing (its useful working in a kids play centre) :tongue:

And when we were on holiday we managed to steal a table, a broomstick and various items of cutlery from peoples caravans while they were sleeping (we did know them, but they never suspected it was us hehe), as well as a frozen pizza :redface:

Reply 2

Tarts_n_Vicars

13

lol I'm wondering how you'd smuggle a foot stool out unnoticed?!

Just a few funky shot glasses from the local bar I'm afraid and deffo no traffic cones.

Reply 3

cookiecrumble

Have you heard of kleptomania?

Reply 4

L i b

19

You dodgy bugger!

But shot glasses, a few pint glasses. a few cones (just to keep up the tradition) and £100 from a casino, but the last one was a complete accident as I was very drunk and thought it was mine. How we get away with these things is beyond me.

Reply 5

BexTait

1

The odd pint/shot glass is aout all I'm singularly responsible.

Team steals on the other hand are slightly better:
Kids high chair and wet floor sign from fast food chain
Canoe (although it was just lying in a bush, so I dunno if it really counts, we did take it in the pub tho)
Menu written on a blackboard
Several footballs
Substitute suit

Reply 6

Fluffy

15

BexTait

The odd pint/shot glass is aout all I'm singularly responsible.

Team steals on the other hand are slightly better:
Kids high chair and wet floor sign from fast food chain
Canoe (although it was just lying in a bush, so I dunno if it really counts, we did take it in the pub tho)
Menu written on a blackboard
Several footballs
Substitute suit

My 'best' aquirement from degree number one was a temporary bus stop - have photo's somewhere - might see if I can dig them out.

Reply 7

Fleece

15

red_roadkill

Has anyone else become a professional thief since going to uni?

I have :frown:

It's become a normal, everyday thing for me now.

I wouldn't steal from another student, someones home or a shop though, just to clarify.

The key to student theft is to be original I feel. What's all this contrived shiz about students stealing For Sale signs and traffic cones. Like, eww. Be creative.

I've stolen a bamboo plant from a restaurant, a crystal wine glass also from a restaurant, a leather foot stool from a club, a mirror, a Big Mac from McDonalds (they left the kitchen door open...quick in and out woo!) and many other things including almost a whole tea-services' worth of Starbucks and Costa Coffee cups.

It's great, but I don't wana get caught and prosecuted because then I wouldn't ever get to be a lawyer :frown:

So what's the best thing you've stolen as a student?

How can you say you wouldn't steal from a shop then go on to say you've stolen a big mac and cups from starbucks?

Reply 8

ellewoods

10

red_roadkill

It's great, but I don't wana get caught and prosecuted because then I wouldn't ever get to be a lawyer :frown:

Just claim you only wanted to prove how easy theft is and was planning on returning the stuff once you had showed it to The Sun newspaper, therefore you had no intention to permenantly deprive and woo, case dropped, credible-lawyer-status still in tact :wink:

Reply 9

L i b

19

ellewoods

Just claim you only wanted to prove how easy theft is and was planning on returning the stuff once you had showed it to The Sun newspaper, therefore you had no intention to permenantly deprive and woo, case dropped, credible-lawyer-status still in tact :wink:

Dunno about England, but there's no need to have intention to permanently deprive up here.

More's the pity... imagine how much fun it'd be. "Borrow" everything in sight.

Reply 10

Danny5876

1

ellewoods

Just claim you only wanted to prove how easy theft is and was planning on returning the stuff once you had showed it to The Sun newspaper, therefore you had no intention to permenantly deprive and woo, case dropped, credible-lawyer-status still in tact :wink:

But doesn't S6. basically say he does have the ITPD :p:

Reply 11

ellewoods

10

Danny5876

But doesn't S6. basically say he does have the ITPD :p:

My post was intended in jest :biggrin:

Reply 12

L i b

19

Aetheria

I've liberated a few plates, cups and shot glasses.

It's not theft if you plan to return it. How you'd prove that is beyond me though.

Can a student of the Laws of England clarify this for me? As a Scots lawyer, where even moving something can constitute theft (indeed, up here wheel clamping a car parked on your property is considered theft and extortion) it seems a ridiculous position to take...

Reply 13

Beekeeper

13

Aetheria

I've liberated a few plates, cups and shot glasses.

It's not theft if you plan to return it. How you'd prove that is beyond me though.

Haha liberated, I like it!

And yes it would be difficult to prove. In England you'd have to prove that you did not 'intend to permanently deprive another' of something, which I don't imagine would be very easily in your case lol.

Hmm, and i've got about 6 beer glasses from the bar in my room at uni, a few very nice spoons from a coffee house we go to and uhm, thats it I suppose.
Well, when we go down for dinner we get excessive ammounts of butter, ketchup and sauce portions then store them all in the fridge, but that doesn't really constitute theft.
Besides, the Hall bar has emailed everyone requesting the glasses be returned because they can't afford the losses, so it looks like we're going to get charged for them anyway.
Oh and a couple of guys on my corridor came back with a huge 'For Sale' sign the other week aswell.

Reply 14

kookabura

13

between us we took quite alot of glasses when we were in halls last year, from the hall bar. so they started using plastic glasses, cos they said they couldnt afford to keep losing them. they just have alot of smashed plastic glasses to clear up each night now!

Reply 15

Ethereal

19

It requires someone to dishonestly take goods belonging another with the intention to permanently deprive.

I suppose in theory if you said "i'm taking this" you are being honest and therefore it isn't theft.

Reply 16

Manatee

14

Ethereal

It requires someone to dishonestly take goods belonging another with the intention to permanently deprive.

I suppose in theory if you said "i'm taking this" you are being honest and therefore it isn't theft.

Not quite. "Dishonestly" is defined (in s.2 of the Theft Act 1968) as follows:

(1) A person's appropriation of property belonging to another is not to be regarded as dishonest-

(a) if he appropriates the property in the belief that he has in law the right to deprive the other of it, on behalf of himself or of a third person; or

(b) if he appropriates the property in the belief that he would have the other's consent if the other knew of the appropriation and the circumstances of it; or

(c) (except where the property came to him as trustee or personal representative) if he appropriates the property in the belief that the person to whom the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps.

(2) A person's appropriation of property belonging to another may be dishonest notwithstanding that he is willing to pay for the property.

So, unless you fall within the circumstances under sub-section (1), you are prima facie acting dishonestly.

Reply 17

Ethereal

19

If, however, you say "i'm taking this" and they do not say you can't you could therefore reasonably believe they have given you permission and thus fall within s 2.1(a) or 2.1 (b).

Also, if for example you say to a cafe owner you wish to purchase a cup, then you have made an offer to buy the cup. If they fill it with coffee, you drink it and walk out with it you could argue you have paid for it and as such s 2.2 applies.

It's all in the semantics :biggrin:

Reply 18

Manatee

14

Ethereal

If, however, you say "i'm taking this" and they do not say you can't you could therefore reasonably believe they have given you permission and thus fall within s 1(a) or 1 (c).

Also, if for example you say to a cafe owner you wish to purchase a cup, then you have made an offer to buy the cup. If they will it with coffee, you drink it and walk out with it you could argue you have paid for it and as such s 2 applies.

It's all in the semantics :biggrin: