Criminal Damage Act 1971

An Act to revise the law of England and Wales as to damage to property and to amend as respects Northern Ireland the law relating to malicious damage.

1(1) A 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.
(2) A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property, whether belonging to himself or another—
(a) intending by the destruction or damage to endanger the life of another; or
(b) being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered;
shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) An offence committed under this section by destroying or damaging property by fire shall be charged as arson.

2 A person who without lawful excuse makes to another a threat, intending that that other would fear it would be carried out—
(a) to destroy or damage any property belonging to that other or a third person; or
(b) to destroy or damage his own property in a way which he knows is likely to endanger the life of that other or a third person;
shall be guilty of an offence.

3(1) A person who has anything in his custody or under his control intending without lawful excuse to use it or cause or permit another to use it—
(a) to destroy or damage any property belonging to some other person; or
(b) to destroy or damage his own or the user’s property in a way which he knows is likely to endanger the life of another;
shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.

4(1) This section applies to any offence under section 1(1) above.
(2) A person charged with an offence to which this section applies shall, whether or not he would be treated for the purposes of this Act as having a lawful excuse apart from this subsection, be treated as having a lawful excuse—
(a) if at the time of the act or acts alleged to constitute the offence he believed that the person or persons whom he believed to be entitled to consent to the destruction of or damage to the property in question had so consented, or would have so consented to it if he or they had known of the destruction or damage and its circumstances; or
(b) if he destroyed or damaged or threatened to destroy or damage the property in question or, in the case of a charge of an offence under section 3 above, had it in his custody or under his control for that purpose, in order to protect property belonging to himself or another or a right or interest in property which was or which he believed to be vested in himself or another and at the time of the act or acts alleged to constitute the offence he believed—
(i) that the property, right or interest was in immediate need of protection; and
(ii) that the means of protection adopted or proposed to be adopted were or would be reasonable having regard to all the circumstances.
(3) For the purposes of this section it is immaterial whether a belief is justified or not if it is honestly held.

5(1) For the purposes of this Act property shall be treated as belonging to any person—
(a) having the custody or control of it;
(b) having in it any proprietary right or interest (not being an equitable interest arising only from an agreement to transfer or grant an interest); or
(c) having a charge on it.
(2) Property of a corporation sole shall be treated as belonging to the corporation notwithstanding a vacancy in the corporation.
(3) Property shall not be treated for the purposes of this Act as belonging to any person by reason only of his having a mortgage or other charge on the property.

6(1) A person who destroys or damages property shall be treated as doing so intentionally if he acts with intent to destroy or damage it; and a person shall be treated as being reckless as to whether property is destroyed or damaged if he is aware of a risk that it will be destroyed or damaged and nevertheless goes on to take that risk.
(2) For the purposes of section 1(2) above a person shall be treated as endangering the life of another by the destruction or damage of property if he is aware of a risk that the life of another will be endangered thereby and nevertheless goes on to take that risk.

7(1) This Act applies to property whether it is tangible or intangible and whether it is real or personal; but it does not apply to offences committed before the commencement of this Act.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting any offence under any other enactment.

8 A person guilty of an offence under section 1(1) above shall on summary conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale or to both; and on conviction on indictment shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.
A person guilty of an offence under section 1(2) above shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for life.

9(1) Proceedings for an offence under section 1(1) above in respect of damage to property where the value of the damage does not exceed the prescribed sum shall be summary only.
(2) In this section “the prescribed sum” means such sum as may be prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.

10(1) In this Act “property” means property of a tangible nature, whether real or personal, including money; and—
(a) includes wild creatures which have been tamed or are ordinarily kept in captivity, and any other wild creatures or their carcasses if they have been reduced into possession which has not been lost or abandoned, or are in the course of being reduced into possession; but
(b) does not include mushrooms growing wild on any land or flowers, fruit or foliage of a plant growing wild on any land, unless they are growing in a building or on land forming part of a garden or allotment.
(2) Property shall be treated as belonging to any person having custody or control of it or having any proprietary right or interest in it.

11 Any person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property, whether belonging to himself or another, by fire shall be guilty of arson.

12 This Act may be cited as the Criminal Damage Act 1971 and shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.