An Exam Question: A woman is driven to Church at Haille Selassie, Westmoreland, Jamaica by her grandson. After Church, she is in the lobby and speaks with people when her grandson says to her that he is going to drop a few people to the subway tram station and will be back. She seems to have nodded yes. 10 minutes pass as she goes to the parking lot to get a book for someone that she remembered while she was chatting and she says, "Where is my vehicle?" Her friend says they will call the police just as her grandson returns with the vehicle after dropping off a few choir members at the subway tram station. They hang up the phone. The grandmother says, "I was just about to say my vehicle.... because I didn't see it". The grandson reminds her that he told her he was borrowing it to pick up some bread and milk for the Bible study...and to drop off a few people at the Westmoreland Tram station and she says maybe I not remember briefly just as I wanted to find a book in the trunk but that is ok if it was you." ClIck here

 An Exam Question: A woman is driven to Church at Haille Selassie, Westmoreland, Jamaica  by her grandson.  After Church, she is in the lobby and speaks with people when her grandson says to her that he is going to drop a few people to the subway tram station and will be back. She seems to have nodded yes.  10 minutes pass as she goes to the parking lot to get a book for someone that she remembered while she was chatting and she says, "Where is my vehicle?" Her friend says they will call the police just as her grandson returns with the vehicle after dropping off a few choir members at the subway tram station.  They hang up the phone.  The grandmother says, "I was just about to say my vehicle.... because I didn't see it".  The grandson reminds her that he told her he was borrowing it to pick up some bread and milk for the Bible study...and to drop off a few people at the Westmoreland Tram station and she says maybe I not remember briefly just as I wanted to find a book in the trunk but that is ok if it was you."    

Theft is defined by section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 as the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it. The principal aim of theft is to acquire property. Theft includes: stealing from a person such as pick pocketing.

In Canada,  the Crown prosecutor must prove that you intended to steal the item in question. For example, if you are charged with theft after a shoplifting incident, the Crown must prove that you purposely took the item from the store without paying. The Crown must also prove that you knowingly did not have consent to take the item and be able to show that it belonged to someone else.

Has a theft occurred?  

The above scenario deals with theft of property.  The answer is that a theft has not occurred when theft is not the issue but a vehicle moved temporarily under lawful pretenses.    Theft is a deliberate and intentional act.  There is no intention to commit theft in the case of the driver.  

Theft is the intent to permanently deprive the owner of  his property.  Driving  the vehicle under lawful pretenses when granny did not hear or remember is not in the intent to deprive the owner permanently of that property, that is not theft.