Skip to Content

Handling stolen goods.

What is meant by 'handling stolen goods'

Handling stolen goods is an offence, if you have stolen goods that you know or think were stolen you can be prosecuted and you will face a criminal trial and, if found guilty, you will face a large fine or a prison term, the prosecution process will consider honesty in obtaining a verdict.

What is defined as ‘handling stolen goods’?

Goods are classed as anything excluding land, for example this can be money, a TV, clothing or jewellery, the Theft Act states goods as any item that has been stolen in or outside of the UK.

So what is ‘handling’?

This is covered by the Act in several different ways the main ones are that a person has possession of the item, or has arranged to take possession.

If a person has helped in the process of removal, storage or passing on of the stolen goods, or if they have done so for the benefit of someone else.

The person to be charged with this offence must be aware that the goods were stolen or believes they may have been.

If the goods have been sold the money made is considered stolen, so if a person has benefitted from the sale of stolen goods they will be charged with the same offence.
It’s possible a thief will be charged with handling stolen goods, but it’s not always the case a thief will be charged with theft, it’s the next person in the chain that will be charged, that is unless the thief has kept hold of the stolen goods in which case they can be charged with theft and handling stolen goods.

A person found guilty of handling stolen goods will face a prison term not exceeding fourteen years, but a judge will look at culpability, which is the level of blame and the amount of harm caused by the crime.

A judge taking these into consideration can impose anything from a fine, community service through to imprisonment. Other factors will also have an effect on the sentencing such as a guilty plea or how much co-operation the defendant has given the authorities.

Handling stolen goods in ##LOCATION##.
Image Description
related news
recent articles
Double Jeopardy Law

What is Double Jeopardy? and is it still Law in the UK?..

link

Cautions, warnings and penalty notices.

Police cautions and warnings are the same and can be issued to anyone over the age of ten for minor offences, whilst this does not count as a conviction it can ..

Appointing a Solicitor

Guide to some of the factors people use when appointing a Solicitor...

Fraud Solicitors | Solicitors.com

Fraud Solicitors. Fraud could be described as a deception in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain, usually monetary. ..

What is a Section 60 notice?

Over 2000 section 60 notices have been issued in London last year..

link

New Guidelines for online hate crimes.

New guidelines have been issued to crack down on online hate...

Clare`s Law - Domestic Violence.

The domestic violence disclosure scheme named after domestic violence victim Clare Wood has been brought in throughout England and Wales. If you feel you could ..

Neighbour Disputes | Nuisance Neighbours

Unfortunately, not everyone is respectful in life, most of the time we just move on and keep our opinion to ourselves, but when that comes to where we live you ..

Stop and Search Laws to be changed?

Police Chiefs are calling for a change in the 'stop and search' l..

link

Double Jeopardy Law

What is Double Jeopardy? and is it still Law in the UK?..

Motoring Offences | Drink Driving.

Motoring Offences - Drink Driving.
If you have been stopped for drink driving it is important that you obtain legal advice as soon as possible and, to assist y..

Dangerous Driving.

You may have witnessed people driving, 'dangerously' or you may have been stopped for dangerous driving, but are you aware that there are other charges that fal..

Image Description
Is there anything wrong with this page? - any amendments will receive accreditation - email us

Solicitors.com are not a firm of solicitors, and any content on the site should not be used in substitute for obtaining Legal advice from a solicitor regulated in the UK, Solicitors.com recommends that you contact a firm of solicitors to discuss your individual legal requirement. Whilst we strive to bring you accurate up to date content, all content on this site is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to be correct. Use of this site does not create a client relationship.

Information by area of law
Back to top