Section 391 of the Criminal Code Queensland provides that:

(1) A person who fraudulently takes anything capable of being stolen, or fraudulently converts the person’s own use or to the use of any other person anything capable of being stolen, is said to steal that thing.

(2) A person who takes or converts anything capable of being stolen is deemed to do so fraudulently if the person does so with any of the following intents, that is to say-

(a) an intent to permanently deprive the owner of the thing of it;

(b) an intent to permanently deprive any person who has any special property in the thing of such property

(c) an intent to use the thing as a pledge or security

(d) an intent to part with it on a condition as to its return which the person taking or converting it may be unable to perform;

(e) an intent to deal with it in such a manner that it cannot be returned in the condition in which it was at the time of the taking or conversion;

(f) in the case of money, an intent to use it at the will of the person who takes or converts it, although the person may intend to afterwards repay the amount to the owner.

To prove this offence, the police need only show the court beyond a reasonable doubt that:

1. the property is a thing capable of being stolen;

2. the thing is owned by the person named as owner in the indictment.

3. there was a taking without the consent of the owner. That is, the accused must have actually moved it or actually dealt with it by some physical act without the owner’s consent;

4. the taking was with fraudulent intent. That is, with the intent to permanently depriving the owner of the thing.

The defences available to this crime is that the property or thing is not capable of being stolen, the accused had the consent of the owner, the accused mistakenly thought they had the consent of the owner, the property was abandoned by the owner or that it is a civil or contractual dispute.

The maximum penalty for the crime of stealing is 5 years imprisonment but if there is aggravating circumstances, a person can face up to 14 years imprisonment. That’s why you need to talk to one our experienced lawyers now to ensure you are given the right advice.

The court which will hear this matter is generally the Magistrates Court of Queensland, however, if the monetary amount exceeds $5,000.00 it must be the District Court.