Larceny

LARCENY, in law, is the unlawful taking and carrying away of things personal with intent to deprive the rightful owner of the same, and is now described by the English statute in force as "stealing." The term theft, sometimes used as a synonym of larceny, is in reality a broader term, applying to all cases of depriving another of his property whether by removing or with holding it, and includes larceny, robbery, cheating, embezzle ment, breach of trust, etc.

Larceny is, in modern legal systems, universally treated as a crime, but the conception of it as a crime is not one belonging to the earliest stage of law. To its latest period Roman law regarded larceny or theft (furtum) as a delict prima facie pursued by a civil remedy—the actio furti for a penalty, the vindicatio or condictio for the stolen property itself or its value. In later times, a criminal remedy to meet the graver crimes gradually grew up by the side of the civil, and in the time of Justinian the criminal remedy, where it existed, took precedence of the civil.

Under the common law of England larceny was a felony. It was affected by numerous statutes. A very large number of the old acts are named in the repealing act of 1827. An act of the same date removed the old distinction between grand and petit larceny. The former was theft of goods above the value of 12 pence, in the house of the owner, not from the person, or by night, and was a capital crime. It was petit larceny where the value was 12 pence or under, the punishment being imprisonment or whipping. In 1861 the Larceny Act of that year was passed, but many of its sections• have been superseded by the Larceny Act, 1916.

Larceny Act of 1916.

By its first section it defines the of fence of stealing (lrrceny). This definition makes no change in the law, but for the first time it puts into statutory form the various definitions that have been given of the offence, both at common law and in some acts of parliament. It provides: "(I). A person steals who, without the consent of the owner, fraudulently and without a claim of right made in good faith, takes and carries away anything capable of being stolen with intent, at the time of such taking, permanently to deprive the owner thereof : Provided that a person may be guilty of stealing any such thing notwithstanding that he has lawful possession thereof, if, being a bailee or part owner thereof, he fraudulently converts the same to his own use or the use of any person other than the owner. (2). (i.) The expression 'takes' includes obtaining the possession—(a) by any trick; (b) by intimidation; (c) under a mistake on the part of the owner with knowledge on the part of the taker that possession has been so obtained; (d) by finding, where at the time of the finding the finder believes that the owner can be discovered by taking reasonable steps; (ii.) the expression

'carries away' includes any removal of anything from the place which it occupies, but in the case of a thing attached, only if it has been completely detached; (iii.) the expression 'owner' in cludes any part owner, or person having possession or control of, or a special property in, anything capable of being stolen. (3). Everything which has value and is the property of any person, and if adhering to the realty then after severance therefrom, shall be capable of being stolen : Provided that—(a) save as here inafter expressly provided with respect to fixtures, growing things, and ore from mines, anything attached to or forming part of the realty shall not be capable of being stolen by the person who severs the same from the realty, unless after severance he has abandoned possession thereof ; and (b) the carcase of a creature wild by nature and not reduced into possession while living shall not be capable of being stolen by the person who has killed such creature, unless after killing it he has abandoned possession of the carcase." Forms of Larceny.—By the second section, stealing, for which no special punishment is provided under any act, is declared to be simple larceny and a felony punishable with penal servitude for any term not exceeding five years, and the offender, if a male under the age of 16 years, may be once privately whipped. Then follows a catena of sections (3-17) dealing with various forms of larceny and prescribing the punishments. They deal with larceny of horses and cattle; killing animals with intent to steal; larceny, after previous summary conviction, of dogs ; larceny of wills; larceny of documents of title to lands and other legal documents; damaging fixtures, trees, etc., with intent to steal; larceny of goods in process of manufacture; abstracting of electricity; larceny of ore from mines; larceny of postal packets, etc. ; larceny in dwelling-houses ; larceny from the person ; lar ceny from ships, docks, etc. ; larceny by tenants or lodgers; larceny by clerks or servants. All, with the exception of larceny of dogs, after previous conviction, which is declared to be a mis demeanour punishable by imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for 18 months, are felonies, and the punishments vary from penal servitude for life in the cases of the larceny of wills or mail bags, to two years' imprisonment in the case of larceny of ore. Gas and water may also be the subject of larceny.