Going Equipped

A person shall be guilty of an offence who when not at their place of abode has with them any (a)   for use in the course of, or in connection with any burglary or theft.

Going Equipped for theft is what type of offence?

• Indictable Only

• Summary Only

• Either Way

• Common Law

Going Equipped for Theft has been created under what legislation?

• Section 25(1) Theft Act 1968

• Section 1 Police and Criminal Evidence 1984

  Stop and Search

• Common Law

• Human Rights

Going Equipped is a Statutory Preventative Measure, what does that mean?

• Hinders police in preventing crime from occurring.

• Makes certain acts that could lead to more serious offences being committed offences themselves.

• Provides police with a power to arrest any person without the need to justify the arrest.

• Going Equipped is the ONLY statutory preventative measure

What is the maximum term of imprisonment for the offence of going equipped?

• Because the offence is a preventative measure, Community Payback is the only sentence given

• 6 months

• 3 years

• 3 years 6 months

Gill is in her kitchen and places a crow bar in a rucksack intending to use it to commit a burglary. She puts the rucksack in her car which is parked on her drive. She then sits in the drivers seat and turns on the engine. Gill drives off the drive not knowing which premises she wants to burgle. After half an hour Gill parks up outside a premises she intends to break into when she stopped by the police. At which point does Gill commit the offence of Going Equipped?

• In her kitchen when forming the mens rea to commit a burglary.

• When putting the rucksack in her car.

• When driving around looking for a premises to break into.

• When she has parked up outside the premises she has decided to break in to.

Rosanna is in her friends 10th floor flat when police arrive and execute a search warrant on that address. Rosanna has a set of car keys in her possession. Police take them and locate the car parked outside the flat on a public road and search it finding a set of Slim Jim tools. Rosanna is not an auto locksmith. Is there an offence of going equipped?

• 
• 

Ben has been in the town centre committing numerous shop liftings, placing high value cosmetics into a foil lined shopping bag. Ben decides he has stolen enough for the day and heads to the bus stop to go home. He is stopped with the goods and the bag just as he is getting onto the bus. Should he be arrested for going equipped?

• No, the items possessed must be for use in a future offence.

• Yes because he has items with him he has used to commit the offence and he is not at his place of abode.

Is it necessary to prove for offence of going equipped that a person needs to have knowledge of the existence of the article?

• No, simple possession of an article is enough

• Yes, it is necessary to prove a person had this knowledge

• No, it is presumed by law that if a person is in possession of an article, knowledge of having it is automatically established

• Yes, but they must have physical possession of the article

Tick all responses that would equate to a place of abode

• Place or site of where someone lives

• Garage and grounds of a persons house

• A rented lockup garage/storage facility

• A lived in motorhome parked on a supermarket carpark for the owner to do their grocery shopping