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THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - LONG TITLE

An Act to revise the law of Northern Ireland as to theft and
similar or associated offences; and for purposes connected therewith.
[10th July 1969]
Definition of "theft"Basic definition of theft.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 1

1.(1) A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates
property belonging to another with the intention of permanently
depriving the other of it; and "thief" and "steal" shall be
construed accordingly.

(2) It is immaterial whether the appropriation is made with a view
to gain, or is made for the thief's own benefit.

(3) The five following sections shall have effect as regards the
interpretation and operation of this section (and, except as
otherwise provided by this Act, shall apply only for purposes of
this section).

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 2
""Dishonestly''.

2.(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.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 3
""Appropriates''.

3.(1) Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts
to an appropriation, and this includes, where he has come by the
property (innocently or not) without stealing it, any later
assumption of a right to it by keeping or dealing with it as
owner.

(2) Where property or a right or interest in property is or
purports to be transferred for value to a person acting in good
faith, no later assumption by him of rights which he believed
himself to be acquiring shall, by reason of any defect in the
transferor's title, amount to theft of the property.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 4
""Property''.

4.(1) "Property" includes money and all other property, real or
personal, including things in action and other intangible property.

(2) A person cannot steal land, or things forming part of land and
severed from it by him or by his directions, except in the
following cases, that is to say

(a)when he is a trustee or personal representative, or is authorised
by power of attorney, or as liquidator of a company, or otherwise,
to sell or dispose of land belonging to another, and he
appropriates the land or anything forming part of it by dealing
with it in breach of the confidence reposed in him; or

(b)when he is not in possession of the land and appropriates
anything forming part of the land by severing it or causing it to
be severed, or after it has been severed; or

(c)when, being in possession of the land under a tenancy, he
appropriates the whole or part of any fixture or structure let to
be used with the land.

For purposes of this subsection, "land" does not include incorporeal
hereditaments; "tenancy" means a tenancy for years or any less
period and includes an agreement for such a tenancy, but a person
who, after the end of a tenancy, remains in possession as statutory
tenant or otherwise is to be treated as having possession under the
tenancy, and "let" shall be construed accordingly.

(3) A person who picks mushrooms growing wild on any land, or who
picks flowers, fruit or foliage from a plant growing wild on any
land, does not (although not in possession of the land) steal what
he picks, unless he does it for reward or for sale or other
commercial purpose.

For purposes of this subsection, "mushroom" includes any fungus, and
"plant" includes any shrub or tree.

(4) Wild creatures, tamed or untamed, shall be regarded as property;
but a person cannot steal a wild creature not tamed nor ordinarily
kept in captivity, or the carcase of any such creature, unless
either it has been reduced into possession by or on behalf of
another person and possession of it has not since been lost or
abandoned, or another person is in course of reducing it into
possession.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 5
""Belonging to another''.

5.(1) Property shall be regarded as belonging to any person having
possession or control of it, or having in it any proprietary right
or interest (not being an equitable interest arising only from an
agreement to transfer or grant an interest).

(2) Where property is subject to a trust, the persons to whom it
belongs shall be regarded as including any person having a right to
enforce the trust, and an intention to defeat the trust shall be
regarded accordingly as an intention to deprive of the property any
person having that right.

(3) Where a person receives property from or on account of another,
and is under an obligation to the other to retain and deal with
that property or its proceeds in a particular way, the property or
proceeds shall be regarded (as against him) as belonging to the
other.

(4) Where a person gets property by another's mistake, and is under
an obligation to make restoration (in whole or in part) of the
property or its proceeds or of the value thereof, then, to the
extent of that obligation, the property or proceeds shall be
regarded (as against him) as belonging to the person entitled to
restoration and an intention not to make restoration shall be
regarded accordingly as an intention to deprive that person of the
property or proceeds.

(5) Property of a corporation sole shall be regarded as belonging
to the corporation notwithstanding a vacancy in the corporation.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 6
""With the intention of permanently depriving the other of it''.

6.(1) A person appropriating property belonging to another without
meaning the other permanently to lose the thing itself is
nevertheless to be regarded as having the intention of permanently
depriving the other of it if his intention is to treat the thing
as his own to dispose of regardless of the other's rights; and a
borrowing or lending of it may amount to so treating it if, but
only if, the borrowing or lending is for a period and in
circumstances making it equivalent to an outright taking or disposal.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), where a
person, having possession or control (lawfully or not) of property
belonging to another, parts with the property under a condition as
to its return which he may not be able to perform, this (if done
for purposes of his own and without the other's authority) amounts
to treating the property as his own to dispose of regardless of
the other's rights.

Theft.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 7

7. A person guilty of theft shall, on conviction on indictment, be
liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 8
Robbery.

8.(1) A person is guilty of robbery if he steals, and immediately
before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, he
uses force on any person or puts or seeks to put any person in
fear of being then and there subjected to force.

(2) A person guilty of robbery, or of an assault with intent to
rob, shall, on conviction on indictment, be liable to imprisonment
for life.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 9
Burglary.

9.(1) A person is guilty of burglary if

(a)he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser
and with intent to commit any such offence as is mentioned in
subsection (2); or

(b)having entered any building or part of a building as a
trespasser, he steals or attempts to steal anything in the building
or that part of it, or inflicts or attempts to inflict on any
person therein any grievous bodily harm.

(2) The offences referred to in subsection (1)(a) are offences of
stealing anything in the building or part of a building in
question, of inflicting on any person therein any grievous bodily
harm or raping any woman therein and of doing unlawful damage to
the building or anything therein.

(3) References in subsections (1) and (2) to a building shall apply
also to an inhabited vehicle or vessel, and shall apply to any
such vehicle or vessel at times when the person having a habitation
in it is not there as well as at times when he is there.

(4) A person guilty of burglary shall, on conviction on indictment,
be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 10
Aggravated burglary.

10.(1) A person is guilty of aggravated burglary if he commits any
burglary and at the time has with him any firearm or imitation
firearm, any weapon of offence or any explosive; and, for this
purpose

(a)"firearm" includes an airgun or air pistol, and "imitation
firearm" means anything which has the appearance of being a firearm,
whether capable of being discharged or not;

(b)"weapon of offence" means any article made or adapted for use
for causing injury to or incapacitating a person, or intended by
the person having it with him for such use; and

(c)"explosive" means any article manufactured for the purpose of
producing a practical effect by explosion, or intended by the person
having it with him for that purpose.

(2) A person guilty of aggravated burglary shall, on conviction on
indictment, be liable to imprisonment for life.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 11
Removal of articles from places open to the public.

11.(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where the public have
access to a building in order to view the building or part of it,
or a collection or part of a collection housed in it, any person
who without lawful authority removes from the building or its
grounds the whole or part of any article displayed or kept for
display to the public in the building, or that part of it, or in
its grounds shall be guilty of an offence.

For this purpose, "collection" includes a collection got together for
a temporary purpose, but references in this section to a collection
do not apply to a collection made or exhibited for the purpose of
effecting sales or other commercial dealings.

(2) It is immaterial for purposes of subsection (1) that the
public's access to a building is limited to a particular period or
particular occasion; but, where anything removed from a building or
its grounds is there otherwise than as forming part of, or being
on loan for exhibition with, a collection intended for permanent
exhibition to the public, the person removing it does not thereby
commit an offence under this section unless he removes it on a day
when the public have access to the building as mentioned in
subsection (1).

(3) A person does not commit an offence under this section if he
believes that he has lawful authority for the removal of the thing
in question or that he would have it if the person entitled to
give it knew of the removal and the circumstances of it.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall, on
conviction on indictment, be liable to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding five years.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 12
Taking of vehicles and other conveyances without authority.

12.Subs.(1) rep. by 1970 c.2 (NI) s.192 sch.5

(2) Subject to subsection (7), a person shall be guilty of an
offence if, without having the consent of the owner or other lawful
authority, he takes any conveyance for his own or another's use or,
knowing that any conveyance has been taken without such authority,
drives it or allows himself to be carried in or on it.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) shall

(a)on conviction on indictment, be liable to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding three years;

(b)on summary conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds,
or to both.

(4) On the trial of any indictment for the theft of a conveyance,
the jury may acquit the defendant of theft and find him guilty of
an offence under subsection (2).

(5) A court of summary jurisdiction dealing summarily with the
offence of theft of a conveyance may acquit the defendant of theft
and find him guilty of an offence under subsection (2).

(6) Offences under subsection (2) and attempts to commit them shall
be deemed for all purposes to be arrestable offences within the
meaning of section 2 of the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland)
1967.

(7) A person does not commit an offence under subsection (2) by
anything done in the belief that he has lawful authority to do it
or that he would have the owner's consent if the owner knew of
his doing it and the circumstances of it.

(8) For purposes of this section

(a)"conveyance" means any conveyance (other than a motor vehicle,
trailer or pedal cycle) constructed or adapted, whether or not as
its primary purpose, for the carriage of a person or persons,
whether by land, water or air, except that it does not include a
conveyance constructed or adapted for use only under the control of
a person not carried in or on it, and "drive" shall be construed
accordingly;

(b)"motor vehicle" and "trailer" have the same meanings as in the
Road Traffic [(Northern Ireland) Order 1981]; and

(c)"owner", in relation to a conveyance which is the subject of a
hiring agreement or hire purchase agreement, means the person in
possession of the conveyance under that agreement.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 13
Abstracting of electricity.

13. A person who dishonestly uses without due authority, or
dishonestly causes to be wasted or diverted, any electricity shall,
on conviction on indictment, be liable to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding five years.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 14
Extension to thefts from mails outside Northern Ireland, and robbery,
etc., on such a theft.

14.(1) Where a person

(a)steals or attempts to steal any mail bag or postal packet in
the course of transmission as such between places in different
jurisdictions in the British postal area, or any of the contents of
such a mail bag or postal packet; or

(b)in stealing or with intent to steal any such mail bag or postal
packet or any of its contents, commits any robbery, attempted
robbery or assault with intent to rob;

(2) In subsection (1), the reference to different jurisdictions in
the British postal area is to be construed as referring to the
several jurisdictions of Northern Ireland, of England and Wales, of
Scotland, of the Isle of Man and of the Channel Islands.

(3) For purposes of this section, "mail bag" includes any article
serving the purpose of a mail bag.

Obtaining property by deception.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 15

15.(1) A person who by any deception dishonestly obtains property
belonging to another, with the intention of permanently depriving the
other of it, shall on conviction on indictment, be liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.

(2) For purposes of this section, a person is to be treated as
obtaining property if he obtains ownership, possession or control of
it, and "obtain" includes obtaining for another or enabling another
to obtain or to retain.

(3) Section 6 shall apply for purposes of this section, with the
necessary adaptation of the reference to appropriating, as it applies
for purposes of section 1.

(4) For purposes of this section, "deception" means any deception
(whether deliberate or reckless) by words or conduct as to fact or
as to law, including a deception as to the present intentions of
the person using the deception or any other person.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 16
Obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception.

16.(1) A person who by any deception dishonestly obtains for himself
or another any pecuniary advantage shall, on conviction on
indictment, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five
years.

(2) The cases in which a pecuniary advantage within the meaning of
this section is to be regarded as obtained for a person are cases
where

Para.(a) rep. by 1978 NI23 art.7(4)

(b)he is allowed to borrow by way of overdraft, or to take out
any policy of insurance or annuity contract, or obtains an
improvement of the terms on which he is allowed to do so; or

(c)he is given the opportunity to earn remuneration or greater
remuneration in an office or employment, or to win money by
betting.

(3) For purposes of this section, "deception" has the same meaning
as in section 15.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 17
False accounting.

17.(1) Where a person dishonestly, with a view to gain for himself
or another or with intent to cause loss to another

(a)destroys, defaces, conceals or falsifies any account or any record
or document made or required for any accounting purpose; or

(b)in furnishing information for any purpose, produces or makes use
of any account, or any such record or document as aforesaid, which
to his knowledge is or may be misleading, false or deceptive in a
material particular;

(2) For purposes of this section, a person who makes or concurs in
making in an account or other document an entry which is or may
be misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular, or who
omits or concurs in omitting a material particular from an account
or other document, is to be treated as falsifying the account or
document.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 18
False statements by company directors, etc.

18.(1) Where an officer of a body corporate or unincorporated
association (or person purporting to act as such), with intent to
deceive members or creditors of the body corporate or association
about its affairs, publishes or concurs in publishing a written
statement or account which to his knowledge is or may be
misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular, he shall,
on conviction on indictment, be liable to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding seven years.

(2) For purposes of this section, a person who has entered into a
security for the benefit of a body corporate or association is to
be treated as a creditor of it.

(3) Where the affairs of a body corporate or association are
managed by its members, this section shall apply to any statement
which a member publishes or concurs in publishing in connection with
his functions of management as if he were an officer of the body
corporate or association.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 19
Suppression etc., of documents.

19.(1) A person who dishonestly, with a view to gain for himself
or another or with intent to cause loss to another, destroys,
defaces or conceals any valuable security, any will or other
testamentary document or any original document of or belonging to,
or filed or deposited in, any court of justice or any government
department shall, on conviction on indictment, be liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

(2) A person who dishonestly, with a view to gain for himself or
another or with intent to cause loss to another, by any deception
procures the execution of a valuable security shall, on conviction
on indictment, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
seven years; and this subsection shall apply in relation to the
making, acceptance, endorsement, alteration, cancellation or destruction
in whole or in part of a valuable security, and in relation to
the signing or sealing of any paper or other material in order
that it may be made or converted into, or used or dealt with as,
a valuable security, as if that were the execution of a valuable
security.

(3) For purposes of this section, "deception" has the same meaning
as in section 15, and "valuable security" means any document
creating, transferring, surrendering or releasing any right to, in or
over property, or authorising the payment of money or delivery of
any property, or evidencing the creation, transfer, surrender or
release of any such right, or the payment of money or delivery of
any property, or the satisfaction of any obligation.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 20
Blackmail.

20.(1) A person is guilty of blackmail if, with a view to gain
for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another, he
makes any unwarranted demand with menaces; and, for this purpose, a
demand with menaces is unwarranted unless the person making it does
so in the belief

(a)that he has reasonable grounds for making the demand; and

(b)that the use of the menaces is a proper means of reinforcing
the demand.

(2) The nature of the act or omission demanded is immaterial, and
it is also immaterial whether the menaces relate to action to be
taken by the person making the demand.

(3) A person guilty of blackmail shall, on conviction on indictment,
be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

Handling stolen goods.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 21

21.(1) A person handles stolen goods if (otherwise than in the
course of the stealing), knowing or believing them to be stolen
goods, he dishonestly receives the goods, or dishonestly undertakes
or assists in their retention, removal, disposal or realisation by
or for the benefit of another person, or if he arranges to do so.

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

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 22
Advertising rewards for return of goods stolen or lost.

22. Where any public advertisement of a reward for the return of
any goods which have been stolen or lost uses any words to the
effect that no questions will be asked, or that the person
producing the goods will be safe from apprehension or inquiry, or
that any money paid for the purchase of the goods or advanced by
way of loan on them will be repaid, the person advertising the
reward and any person who prints or publishes the advertisement
shall, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one
hundred pounds.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 23
Scope of offences relating to stolen goods.

23.(1) The provisions of this Act relating to goods which have been
stolen shall apply whether the stealing occurred in Northern Ireland
or elsewhere, and whether it occurred before or after the
commencement of this Act, provided that the stealing (if not an
offence under this Act) amounted to an offence where and at the
time when the goods were stolen; and references to stolen goods
shall be construed accordingly.

(2) For purposes of those provisions, references to stolen goods
shall include, in addition to the goods originally stolen and parts
of them (whether in their original state or not)

(a)any other goods which directly or indirectly represent or have at
any time represented the stolen goods in the hands of the thief as
being the proceeds of any disposal or realisation of the whole or
part of the goods stolen or of goods so representing the stolen
goods; and

(b)any other goods which directly or indirectly represent or have at
any time represented the stolen goods in the hands of a handler of
the stolen goods, or any part of them, as being the proceeds of
any disposal or realisation of the whole or part of the stolen
goods handled by him or of goods so representing them.

(3) But no goods shall be regarded as having continued to be
stolen goods after they have been restored to the person from whom
they were stolen or to other lawful possession or custody, or after
that person and any other person claiming through him have otherwise
ceased as regards those goods to have any right to restitution in
respect of the theft.

(4) Without prejudice to subsections (1) to (3), any person who,
without lawful excuse, knowing that any property has been obtained
under such circumstances that, if it had been so obtained in
Northern Ireland, the person obtaining it would have been guilty of
theft, has in his possession such property so obtained in the
Republic of Ireland shall, on conviction on indictment, be liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

(5) For purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to goods
which have been stolen (including subsections (1) to (4)), goods
obtained in Northern Ireland or elsewhere either by blackmail or in
the circumstances described in section 15(1) shall be regarded as
stolen; and "steal", "theft" and "thief" shall be construed
accordingly.

Going equipped for stealing, etc.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 24

24.(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if, when not at his
place of abode, he has with him any article for use in the course
of, or in connection with, any burglary, theft or cheat.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall, on
conviction on indictment, be liable to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding three years.

(3) Where a person is charged with an offence under this section,
proof that he had with him any article made or adapted for use in
committing a burglary, theft or cheat shall be evidence that he had
it with him for such use.

(4) Any person may arrest without warrant anyone who is, or whom
he, with reasonable cause, suspects to be, committing an offence
under this section.

(5) For purposes of this section, an offence under section 12(2) of
taking a conveyance and an offence under [Article 172 of the Road
Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981] of taking a motor vehicle
shall be treated as theft, and "cheat" means an offence under
section 15.

Search for stolen goods.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 25

25.(1) If it is made to appear by information on oath before a
justice of the peace that there is reasonable cause to believe that
any person has in his custody or possession or on his premises any
stolen goods, the justice may grant a warrant to search for and
seize the same; but no warrant to search for stolen goods shall be
addressed to a person other than a constable except under the
authority of an enactment expressly so providing.

(2) An officer of the Royal Ulster Constabulary not below the rank
of district inspector may give a constable written authority to
search any premises for stolen goods

(a)if the person in occupation of the premises has been convicted
within the preceding five years of handling stolen goods or of any
offence involving dishonesty and punishable with imprisonment; or

(b)if a person who has been convicted within the preceding five
years of handling stolen goods has within the preceding twelve
months been in occupation of the premises.

(3) Where, under this section, a person is authorised to search
premises for stolen goods, he may enter and search the premises
accordingly, and may seize any goods he believes to be stolen
goods.

(4) The Police (Property) Act 1897 (which makes provision for the
disposal of property in the possession of the police) shall apply
to property which has come into the possession of a constable under
this section as it applies to property which has come into the
possession of the police in the circumstances mentioned in that Act.

(5) This section is to be construed in accordance with section 23;
and, in subsection (2) of this section, the references to handling
stolen goods shall include any corresponding offence committed before
the commencement of this Act.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 26
Evidence and procedure on charge of theft or handling stolen goods.

26.(1) Any number of persons may be charged in one indictment or
in one complaint, with reference to the same theft, with having at
different times or at the same time handled all or any of the
stolen goods, and the persons so charged may be tried together.

(2) If, on the trial of an indictment or the hearing of a
complaint for the theft of any property, the property is alleged by
the indictment or complaint to have been stolen at one time but it
appears that the property was appropriated at different times, such
separate appropriations may be tried or heard together, to a number
not exceeding three, if a period of not more than six months
elapsed between the first and the last of such appropriations.

(3) Where, on the joint trial of two or more persons for handling
stolen goods, a court of summary jurisdiction or, on a trial on
indictment, the jury is satisfied that any of the accused handled
all or any of the stolen goods (whether or not he did so jointly
with the other accused or any of them), the court or, as the case
may be, the jury may find him guilty.

(4) Where a person is being proceeded against for handling stolen
goods (but not for any offence other than handling stolen goods),
then, at any stage of the proceedings, if evidence has been given
of his having or arranging to have in his possession the goods the
subject of the charge, or of his undertaking or assisting in, or
arranging to undertake or assist in, their retention, removal,
disposal or realisation, the following evidence shall be admissible
for the purpose of proving that he knew or believed the goods to
be stolen goods

(a)evidence that he has had in his possession, or has undertaken or
assisted in the retention, removal, disposal or realisation of,
stolen goods from any theft taking place not earlier than twelve
months before the offence charged; and

(b)(provided that seven days' notice in writing has been given to
him of the intention to prove the conviction) evidence that he has
within five years preceding the date of the offence charged been
convicted of theft or of handling stolen goods.

(5) In any proceedings for the theft of anything in the course of
transmission (whether by post or otherwise), or for handling stolen
goods from such a theft, a statutory declaration made by any person
that he despatched or received or failed to receive any goods or
postal packet, or that any goods or postal packet when despatched
or received by him were in a particular state or condition, shall
be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the declaration,
subject to the following conditions

(a)a statutory declaration shall only be admissible where and to the
extent to which oral evidence to the like effect would have been
admissible in the proceedings; and

(b)a statutory declaration shall only be admissible if, at least
seven days before the hearing or trial, a copy of it has been
given to the person charged, and he has not, at least three days
before the hearing or trial or within such further time as the
court may in special circumstances allow, given the prosecutor
written notice requiring the attendance at the hearing or trial of
the person making the declaration.

(6) This section is to be construed in accordance with section 23;
and, in subsection (4)(b) of this section, the reference to handling
stolen goods shall include any corresponding offence committed before
the commencement of this Act.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 27
Orders for restitution.

27.(1) Where goods have been stolen, and [either] a person is
convicted of any offence with reference to the theft (whether or
not the stealing is the gist of his offence) [or a person is
convicted of any other offence and such an offence as aforesaid is
taken into consideration in determining his sentence], the court by
or before which the offender is convicted may, on the conviction,
exercise any of the following powers

(a)the court may order anyone having possession or control of the
goods to restore them to any person entitled to recover them from
him; or

(b)on the application of a person entitled to recover from the
person convicted any other goods directly or indirectly representing
the first-mentioned goods (as being the proceeds of any disposal or
realisation of the whole or part of them or of goods so
representing them), the court may order those other goods to be
delivered or transferred to the applicant; or

[(c)the court may order that a sum not exceeding the value of the
first-mentioned goods shall be paid, out of any money of the person
convicted which was taken out of his possession on his apprehension,
to any person who, if those goods were in the possession of the
person convicted, would be entitled to recover them from him.]

(2) Where, under subsection (1), the court has power on a person's
conviction to make an order against him both under paragraph (b)
and under paragraph (c) with reference to the stealing of the same
goods, the court may make orders under both paragraphs provided that
the [person in whose favour the orders are made] does not thereby
recover more than the value of those goods.

(3) Where, under subsection (1), the court on a person's conviction
makes an order under paragraph (a) for the restoration of any
goods, and it appears to the court that the person convicted has
sold the goods to a person acting in good faith, or has borrowed
money on the security of them from a person so acting, ..., the
court may order that there shall be paid to the [purchaser or
lender], out of any money of the person convicted which was taken
out of his possession on his apprehension, a sum not exceeding the
amount paid for the purchase by the [purchaser] or, as the case
may be, the amount owed to the [lender] in respect of the loan.

(4) The court shall not exercise the powers conferred by this
section unless in the opinion of the court the relevant facts
sufficiently appear from evidence given at the trial or the
available documents, together with admissions made by or on behalf
of any person in connection with any proposed exercise of the
powers; and, for this purpose, "the available documents" means any
written statements or admissions which were made for use, and would
have been admissible, as evidence at the trial, the depositions
taken at any committal proceedings and any written statements or
admissions used as evidence in those proceedings.

Subs.(5) rep. by 1980 c.47 s.51(2) sch.5

(6) For purposes of this section, references to stealing are to be
construed in accordance with section 23(1) and (5), ...

S.28 substitutes para.11 of sch.3 to 1964 c.21 (NI)

Effect on civil proceedings and rights.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 29

29.(1) A person shall not be excused, by reason that to do so may
incriminate that person or the wife or husband of that person of
an offence under this Act

(a)from answering any question put to that person in proceedings for
the recovery or administration of any property, for the execution of
any trust or for an account of any property or dealings with
property; or

(b)from complying with any order made in any such proceedings;

(2) Notwithstanding any enactment to the contrary, where property has
been stolen or obtained by fraud or other wrongful means, the title
to that or any other property shall not be affected by reason only
of the conviction of the offender.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 30
Effect on existing law and construction of references to offences.

30.(1) The following offences are hereby abolished for all purposes
not relating to offences committed before the commencement of this
Act, that is to say

(a)any offence at common law of larceny, robbery, burglary, receiving
stolen property, obtaining property by threats, extortion by colour
of office or franchise, false accounting by public officers,
concealment of treasure trove and, except as regards offences
relating to the public revenue, cheating; and

(b)any offence under an enactment mentioned in Part I of Schedule
3, to the extent to which the offence depends on any section or
part of a section included in column 3 of that Schedule;

(2) Except as regards offences committed before the commencement of
this Act, and except in so far as the context otherwise requires,

(a)references in any enactment passed before this Act to an offence
abolished by this Act shall, subject to any express amendment or
repeal made by this Act, have effect as references to the
corresponding offence under this Act; and, in any such enactment,
the expression "receive" (when it relates to an offence of
receiving) shall mean handle, and "receiver" shall be construed
accordingly; and

(b)without prejudice to paragraph (a), references in any enactment,
whenever passed, to theft or stealing (including references to stolen
goods), and references to robbery, blackmail, burglary, aggravated
burglary or handling stolen goods, shall be construed in accordance
with the provisions of this Act, including those of section 23.

S.31(1), with Schedule 2, effects amendments; subs.(2), with Schedule
3, effects repeals

Interpretation.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 32

32.(1) Sections 4(1) and 5(1) shall apply generally for purposes of
this Act as they apply for purposes of section 1.

(2) For purposes of this Act

(a)"enactment" means any statutory provision within the meaning of
section 1(f) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954;

(b)"gain" and "loss" are to be construed as extending only to gain
or loss in money or other property, but as extending to any such
gain or loss whether temporary or permanent; and

(i)"gain" includes a gain by keeping what one has, as well as a
gain by getting what one has not; and

(ii)"loss" includes a loss by not getting what one might get, as
well as a loss by parting with what one has; and

(c)"goods" includes money and every other description of property
except land, and includes things severed from the land by stealing.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 33
Commencement and transitional provisions.

33.(1) This Act shall come into force on the 1st August 1969 and,
save as otherwise provided by this Act, shall have effect only in
relation to offences wholly or partly committed on or after that
date.

(2) Sections 26 and 27 shall apply in relation to proceedings for
an offence committed before the commencement of this Act as they
would apply in relation to proceedings for a corresponding offence
under this Act, and shall so apply in place of any corresponding
enactment repealed by this Act.

(3) Subject to subsection (2), no repeal or amendment by this Act
of any enactment relating to procedure or evidence, or to the
jurisdiction or powers of any court, or to the effect of a
conviction, shall affect the operation of the enactment in relation
to offences committed before the commencement of this Act or to
proceedings for any such offence.

THEFT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 34
Short title.

34. This Act may be cited as the Theft Act (Northern Ireland)
1969.

1.(1) A person who unlawfully takes or kills, or attempts to take
or kill, any deer in inclosed land where deer are usually kept
shall, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding
fifty pounds or, for an offence committed after a previous
conviction for an offence under this paragraph, to imprisonment for
a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one
hundred pounds, or to both.

(2) Any person may arrest without warrant anyone who is, or whom
he, with reasonable cause, suspects to be, committing an offence
under this paragraph.

2. Where the carcase of any sheep or lamb, or the head, skin or
any part thereof, or any fleece thereof, is seized by any person
pursuant to section 25(3), any person in whose possession or on
whose premises any such carcase, head, skin, part or fleece is
found may be arrested without warrant by any constable; and, if
that person fails to satisfy a court of summary jurisdiction that
he came lawfully by such carcase, head, skin, part or fleece, he
shall, on summary conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred
pounds, or to both.

3. Any person who changes, alters or defaces, or causes to be
changed, altered or defaced

(a)any name engraved upon any watch as the maker or owner thereof,
or the number of such watch, or the place where the same was
made, or any coat of arms or crest thereon; or

(b)any name, cypher, crest or arms engraved upon any article or
piece of family plate (whether gold or silver);

Schedule 2Amendments. Schedule 3Repeals