Handling Stolen Goods

A person can be charged with the offence of handling stolen goods if they are in receipt of items that they know or believe to have been stolen. Furthermore, this offence considers the intricacies of honesty as an inclusion to the receipt, distribution or sale of goods that have been obtained unlawfully. Should a person be arrested for this offence, their case will be heard in a criminal court and punishments range from large fines through to potential imprisonment. It is therefore crucial to understand the processes and possible outcomes of a case if you are concerned about handling stolen goods. The following article provides information on the types of activity that fall into unlawful behaviour for this offence and the likely outcomes for those arrested for this crime.

What does the term ‘handling stolen goods' actually mean?

Handling stolen goods is a criminal offence as outlined by the Theft Act 1968. Most hearings for this crime will be heard in the Magistrate's Court, though more serious and extensive cases will be heard in the Crown Court. The act defines the term ‘goods' as including money, all forms of property with the exclusion of land. Property which has been taken from land (for example, crops).

Section 24 of the Theft Act defines stolen goods as being any items that have been stolen. Goods which have been stolen in another country and handled in the United Kingdom are still considered to fall under the laws of handling stolen goods. In order to have a case against a person for this criminal offence, the items must remain stolen at the time of handling.

Goods that have been stolen must remain stolen in order for a person to be prosecuted. Once the goods have been returned to a lawful owner or to police custody, they can no longer be considered as being stolen.

The Theft Act defines ‘handling' of stolen goods in 18 different ways. This includes the following ways of handling:

• Receiving stolen goods
• Arranging to receive stolen goods
• Assisting in the retention, removal, disposal or realisation by another.
• Undertaking in the retention, removal, disposal or realisation of stolen goods by or for the benefit of another.

In order to be successfully prosecuted for this criminal law offence, the accused must either know or believe that the goods are stolen at the time of handling. Such knowledge can be assured if the accused knows the source of the goods or if the accused has been told that the goods have been stolen by someone who has first-hand knowledge of such information.

When are stolen goods no longer considered as being stolen?

Stolen goods remain stolen until certain situations are achieved. Goods cease to be stolen when they are:

• Returned to their lawful owner
• In the custody and protection of the police
• When the person to whom the goods formerly belonged no longer considers the goods to be their property

Proceeds of Stolen Goods

The proceeds obtained through the sale of stolen goods are considered to be stolen goods themselves. This means that any person who gains financially from stolen goods or their handling will also be liable for prosecution on the same terms.

Dishonesty

Dishonesty also plays a focal point in cases relating to handling stolen goods. The prosecution must prove that the accused acted with dishonesty at the time of handling the items. For example, if a person handled stolen goods with the aim of returning them to their rightful owner, that person could not be prosecuted. The same is true if a person is in possession of such items with the intention of handing them into the police. Because they were not acting with dishonesty, they are not in a position to be prosecuted for the crime.

Is a thief automatically guilty of handling stolen goods?

In most cases the answer is no, as Section 22 of the Theft Act excludes in the course of stealing in the definition of handling stolen goods. For example, a thief who is arrested whilst stealing from a warehouse would be charged with theft and not prosecuted for handling stolen goods.

Once the stolen items have been sold or passed on to another person, it is that person who would potentially be guilty of handling stolen goods.

A thief can be guilty of both the theft of the goods and for handling stolen goods if he or she continues to hold on to the items after the theft has been committed.

handling stolen goods Sentencing Guidelines

Anybody who is caught handling stolen goods can face a sentence in prison. The prosecution guidelines are defined under the Theft Act, which dictates that a prison sentence and a fine of up to £5,000 may be given to those found guilty of the crime. If a case is heard by the Crown Court, a longer sentence and larger fine may be given. The Theft Act details that prosecution is capped as per the following:

"A person guilty of handling stolen goods shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years."

Although the maximum prison sentence for handling stolen goods is 14 years, there are various factors taken into account when assessing the appropriate sentence. This includes an assessment of culpability and harm.

Assessing culpability for handling stolen goods

Culpability looks at the level of responsibility or blame for the crime and is broken down into 3 categories:

• High culpability (category A) would be demonstrated if the offender played a leading role in a group crime or if a position of trust or power had been abused. Involving another person through intimidation, coercion or exploitation would also fall under this category, as would possession of stolen goods from a very recent domestic robbery or burglary.
• Medium culpability (category B) includes offenders who play a significant role in a group crime or if the offender acquires stolen goods for resale.
• Lesser culpability (category C) is demonstrated if the offender acquired goods for their own personal use or had limited understanding or awareness of the offence. It also includes those who handled stolen goods through exploitation, coercion or intimidation.

In many cases, an offender charged with handling stolen goods may have characteristics which fall within multiple categories of culpability. In these instances, the court will try to reach a fair assessment of culpability by balancing the characteristics from each category.

Assessing harm in cases of handling stolen goods

To determine the correct sentence, the courts will assess the level of harm that has been caused by the crime. Harm is based on the financial loss to the victim and any additional harm deemed significant. Additional harm can include stolen items that were of significant value to the victim, regardless of the financial worth.

There are 4 categories of harm:

• Category 1 - Goods stolen were of very high value (over £100,000) or were high value (£10,000 to £100,000) but there was significant additional harm.
• Category 2 - Stolen goods were of high value (between £10,000 and £100,000) or were of medium value (£1,000 to £10,000) but there was significant additional harm.
• Category 3 - The goods stolen were of medium value (between £1,000 and £10,000) or were low value (less than £1,000) but there was significant additional harm.
• Category 4 - This category is for low value goods (less than £1,000) and where there is no significant additional harm caused by the crime.

Factors that may reduce a sentence

Once the appropriate sentence has been determined based on the facts of the case, the court should assess whether there are any valid reasons to reduce the sentence.

• Reduction for a guilty plea - a person who pleads guilty may receive a reduced sentence based on the Guilty Plea guidelines of the court and section 144 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
• The Totality principle - this applies to a person who is already serving a sentence for a different crime or is being sentenced for 2 or more offences. In these cases, the court should consider whether the sentence is just and proportionate based on the overall criminal behaviour of the offender.
• Time spent on bail - Under section 240a of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court should take into consideration time spent on bail to determine whether any sentencing reduction should be given.
• Assistance to the prosecution - if an offender provides or offers assistance to the prosecution, he or she may receive a reduced sentence. This is covered by sections 73 and 74 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.