Criminal Damage - Simple
Date Produced: 06 February 2008
Title: Criminal Damage
Offence: Criminal Damage - simple
Legislation: S1 CRIMINAL DAMAGE ACT 1971
Mode of Trial: Either Way. Treated as summary only if less than £5000
Statutory Limitations & Maximum Penalty: Maximum when tried on indictment: 10 years. Maximum when tried summarily: Level 5 fine and/or 6 months. Triable only summarily less than £5,000:
Maximum penalty: Level 4 fine and/or 3 months
Aggravating & Mitigating Factors
- Intentional/reckless
- Motivation revenge or political
- Hate Crime
- Pre-planned
- Extent of damage
- Damage to a school or other public amenity
- Damage to emergency equipment
- Significant public or private fear caused
Relevant Sentencing Guidelines (If Any)
None but note:
R v Alden [2002] 2 Cr.App.R.(S.) 74
Sentencing powers when damage < £5000.
R v Gwynn [2003] 2 Cr.App.R.(S.) 41
The Crown Court should not impose consecutive sentences of greater than six months for offences of damage < £5000.
R v Ward and Others [1997]
The conspiracy to cause damage is not caught by S22 so the maximum sentence is 10y.
Relevant Sentencing Case Law
R v Francis (1985) 7 Cr.App.R.(S.) 222
The defendant cut the fence at Greenham Common. 12 months custody of which 6m was suspended.
R v Verdi [2005] 1 Cr.App.R.(S.) 43; [2004] EWCA Crim 1485
Guilty Plea. The defendant painted graffiti on tube trains causing £10 million worth of damage. 18 months YOI and ASBO.
R v Dolan & Whitaker [2007] 29/10/07
The appellants (20y and 18y) pleaded guilty to seven and six counts of criminal damage and asked for 12 and 8 offences to be TICed. The appellants were graffiti artist who tagged a number of railway carriages and buildings in the North West causing £12K damage. Sentences of 15 months and 12 months YOI were quashed and conditional discharges imposed.
CRASBOs against both appellants were quashed on the grounds that "There was no evidence that this conduct had caused harassment, alarm or distress to anyone, the nature of the material was not threatening or offensive, nor was there sufficient evidence that either was likely to re offend."
Verdi was distinguished on the grounds that 1) Verdi had been previously convicted 2) the graffiti in that case contained material that was both threatening and offensive. 3) Verdi pre dated the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and 4) Verdi did not purport to be a guideline case.
The Court of Appeal stated that conduct of this type passed the custodial threshold although the judge should have considered a community penalty as an alternative in the light of the appellant's "very positive mitigation". Conditional discharges were imposed as the defendants had served the equivalent of 4 months.
The Court of Appeal did not make clear whether the CRASBOs were quashed on the grounds that the conduct was not anti-social or that the orders were not "necessary".
R v Dobson [2000] WL 1544618
Pleaded guilty to burglary x 2. The defendant (50y) broke into the house of his former partner and caused £650 worth of damage. Held repeated intrusion more of the character of malicious damage than burglary. Held 21 months reduced to 12 months (plus 3 months for other matters).
Ancillary Orders
- Compensation
Consider Also
- ASBO
Links
ARCHBOLD 23-29, 23-46
THOMAS B7-1.3B
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