Goodman Berman, Barristers

THEFT

If you take property that does not belong to you knowing it does not belong to you, and you have taken the property intentionally, then you have committed a theft. The charge of theft is divided in two: thefts with a value of less than $5000 and those thefts that have a value of more than $5000. The act of theft is defined in the Criminal Code as:

322. (1) Every one commits theft who fraudulently and without colour of right takes, or fraudulently and without colour of right converts to his use or to the use of another person, anything, whether animate or inanimate, with intent

	(a) to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it, or a person who has a special property or interest in it, of the thing or of his property or interest in it;
	(b) to pledge it or deposit it as security;
	(c) to part with it under a condition with respect to its return that the person who parts with it may be unable to perform; or
	(d) to deal with it in such a manner that it cannot be restored in the condition in which it was at the time it was taken or converted.

To explain the wording of the criminal code, if you take property from someone else, even if it is only for a short period of time, you have committed a theft. If you take property with the intention of giving it back and in the same condition you took it, you have committed a theft. Even if you have been lent an item, you could be charged with theft if you damage the property with an intention of doing so.

If you are charged with theft over $5000, the Prosecution must proceed by indictment. This means that you have the option of being tried by a Jury. It also means that you could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail. If the theft is under $5000, the Prosectuion has an option as to how to elect. If the Prosecution proceeds by summary conviction, you will be tried in the Ontario Court of Justice with a Judge. If the Prosecution proceeds by summary conviction, the maximum jail sentence one could receive is 2 years.

At Goodman Berman, Barristers, we take every charge seriously, and will work vigorously on your defence. Some questions that need to be answered are:

Was the property taken?
What was the value of the property?
Did you know that the property didn’t belong to you?
Were you found to be in possession of the property alleged to be stolen?
Was there any video surveillance of the theft?
Do you have any witnesses that can testify that you did not take the property?

There are many ways to defend a charge of theft. At Goodman Berman, Barristers, we have defended countless clients charged with this offence. One of our lawyers can meet with you and explain your options to you.