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Criminal Damage
The offence of Criminal Damage is governed by the Criminal Damage Act 1971.
Criminal damage encompasses a range of actions, such as arson, unlawful entry into a property, defacement of public buildings with graffiti, and destruction or damage to property belonging to others.
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The Criminal Damage Act 1971 is the primary legislation governing offences related to the damage of property. It also establishes the statutory offence of arson and further addresses offences of threats to cause criminal damage to property.
Any person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another, intending to destroy or damage any such property, or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged, shall be guilty of an offence
Even if the damaged items can be repaired, individuals responsible for such acts can still face prosecution.
The offence of criminal damage is triable either way which means that it could be heard in either magistrates’ or crown court. Typically, criminal damage to the value of £5000 and below are heard in the magistrates’ court.
A person has a defence if:
They believed at the time that the owner of the property would consent to the destruction of or damage to the property in question and/or.
The owner gave consent to do so, or the owners of the property would consent to the destruction of property if they had known of the destruction or damage and its circumstances.
If you have been invited to a police interview or are facing criminal charges, please contact Kelly Blake Legal.
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