Criminal damage

Chris draws on his neighbours garage wall with chalk which will wash away in the rain the following day. His neighbour, horrified at the drawing buys a scrubbing brush and detergent and spends an hour scrubbing the drawing off the wall. Has Chris committed an offence against the criminal damage act?

Criminal damage. Which of the following are not property for the purposes of the Act?

Peter is drunk in the pub. He jokingly says to his friend Danny, that if the licensee talks to him like that again, he’ll burn the pub down. Peter does not mean it. Danny, who has had more to drink, thinks he does. The next day, Danny tells the licensee, who reports the matter to the police. Is this a threat to cause damage?

Frank is very angry with Elsie and tells his friend James that he intends to burn her shop down. James does not believe him.The shop had been sold some months earlier. Has Frank made a threat to destroy or damage property?

Young Turner asks his mate, Jonah, if he can borrow a few paint spray cans to do a bit of graffiti in the underpass. Jonah agrees. Turner is arrested before any graffiti can be done. Has Jonah committed an offence against the Criminal Damage Act?

Royston buys some petrol intending to burn down his rival’s garage. He keeps the petrol in John’s back garden, some miles away. He subsequently befriends his rival, who, in the event goes out of business. Has Royston committed an offence against the Criminal Damage Act?

Clark has been given a last warning by his supermarket boss. Clark is unhappy and intends to get his own back by causing loss to the supermarket. He buys a sugar bag in his local store and allows his pet mice to nibble at the bag. He then places the bag in the sugar aisle at work. In the event no one notices. Is Clark guilty of contaminating goods?

By way of a joke, Parker rings the local supermarket and says his friend has put rat droppings in sugar bags, and placed them on the sugar shelf in the store. The receptionist doesn’t believe him and does nothing. Has Parker committed a contamination offence?

Ken is upset with his local supermarket. He buys sugar bags, makes them look as if they have been interfered with, then changes his mind. Has Ken committed an offence concerning contamination?

Donald set fire to his own flat in a block of 4, in the hope of defrauding his insurance company. What offence, if any, has he committed against the Criminal Damage Act?

Mr and Mrs Dawson see 3 dogs locked in a car on a hot summer’s day. The dogs appear to be distressed, then Mr Dawson smashes the window and removes the dogs, sure that that would be what the owner would want. Who, if anyone, has committed an offence of criminal damage?

Can mushrooms growing wild be damaged?

Can wild strawberries growing wild be damaged?

Does the defence of lawful excuse or permission or protection apply in cases of aggravated criminal damage?

Paul telephones Harris at midnight saying he’s going to set his flat on fire and claim from the insurance company. Paul asks Harris if he can use some petrol stored in Harris’ garage. The petrol was bought by both Paul and Harris. Harris says “do what you want mate”. Has Harris committed an offence against the Criminal Damage Act?

Greg is out with Helen. They decide to steal a car. Helen keeps lookout while Greg smashes a car window. They then take the car and pick up Warren and May. They make their way to the woods where they run the car down a hill and make off. The car comes to a halt without being damaged. What offence has Greg committed?

Helen’s mother is away for the day, so Helen decides to take her car and let Al have it who thinks he may have a buyer. Her mother never lets her use the vehicle, so before taking it she damages the car lock to make it look as if it’s been stolen. What offences has Helen committed?

Duncan breaks into a workmen’s hut to get his head down. Whilst there he looks around to see what he can steal, but there’s nothing worth nicking. What offences has Duncan committed?

Florence drops coins from the top floor of a multi-storey carpark onto the cars leaving the carpark. She hopes to break a windscreen, but has no intention to harm anyone. As it happens, the coins are too small and they only leave a dent in the bonnet. Is this aggravated damage?

Garry drops a TV from his bedroom window intending that it should smash through the neighbours conservatory below and kill his neighbour. The TV does smash through the conservatory roof, but his neighbour is not home and no-one is harmed. Is this aggravated damage?