Scratched paintwork, a smashed window, a kicked-in gate or graffiti on a garage door all point to the same offence in law. The Criminal Damage Act 1971 covers destroying or damaging property, and it is the main statute behind most vandalism reports. This article summarises the Act as published on legislation.gov.uk and the Crown Prosecution Service’s guidance on allocation. The provisions summarised here are marked on legislation.gov.uk as extending to England and Wales, so this article covers England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland are outside its scope. It is general information, not legal advice.
The basic offence
Section 1(1) says a person commits an offence if, without lawful excuse, they destroy or damage property belonging to another, intending to do so or being reckless as to whether such property would be destroyed or damaged. Two features matter for householders. The offence needs intent or recklessness, so an accident is a different matter, and it applies whatever the value of the damage, from a keyed panel to a wrecked shed.
Section 10 defines “property” as property of a tangible nature, real or personal, including money. It also treats property as belonging to anyone who has custody or control of it, or a proprietary right or interest in it, or a charge on it. That means a tenant, a lender with a charge or someone renting a car can all be the person to whom the property “belongs”. The section excludes wild mushrooms and wild flowers, fruit or foliage, and section 10(5) says altering the contents of a computer is not damage unless it impairs the physical condition of the computer or storage medium.
Endangering life and arson
Section 1(2) covers a more serious version: destroying or damaging any property, even the person’s own, intending to endanger the life of another or being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. Section 1(3) provides that an offence committed by fire is charged as arson.
Threats and possession
Two further offences complete the Act. Section 2 makes it an offence, without lawful excuse, to threaten another person with the destruction or damage of their property, or of a third person’s property, intending them to fear the threat would be carried out. It also covers threats to destroy the threatener’s own property in a way that endangers life. Section 3 covers having anything in custody or under control intending, without lawful excuse, to use it or let another use it to destroy or damage another person’s property. The Act records that sections 2 and 3 were amended as to mode of trial by the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980.
Maximum sentences
Under section 4, arson and the section 1(2) life-endangering offence carry a maximum of life imprisonment on conviction on indictment. Any other offence under the Act carries up to ten years on indictment.
Where the case is heard: the 5,000 pound line
The CPS guidance on allocation explains why most vandalism is dealt with in the magistrates’ court. It says that, although criminal damage is triable either way, for allocation purposes a charge under section 1 of the 1971 Act is treated as if it were summary only where the value is less than 5,000 pounds, except in cases involving arson or memorials. The CPS adds that the six-month time limit for laying an information in section 127 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 does not apply to criminal damage.
“Lawful excuse”
The Act does not define lawful excuse in the abstract. Section 5 says a person charged with a section 1(1) offence is treated as having a lawful excuse in two situations:
- they believed the person entitled to consent to the damage had consented, or would have consented had they known of it and its circumstances; or
- they damaged or threatened to damage property to protect their own or another’s property, or a right or interest in property, and at the time believed both that it was in immediate need of protection and that the means used were reasonable in all the circumstances.
Section 5(3) says it is immaterial whether the belief is justified, if it is honestly held. The site’s article on booby traps and DIY deterrents looks at the position of traps aimed at intruders, and the article on reasonable force against a home intruder covers the separate force rules.
How this differs from burglary
Burglary is a separate offence under the Theft Act 1968. The site’s guide to what legally counts as burglary explains that offence, while criminal damage under the 1971 Act is charged as its own offence.
Questions people ask
Does it matter who owns the damaged item? For a section 1(1) offence the property must belong to another, and section 10 defines belonging broadly. Section 1(2) applies even to a person’s own property where life is endangered.
The bottom line
The Criminal Damage Act 1971 treats deliberate or reckless damage to another’s property as an offence in England and Wales, with a ten-year maximum on indictment, life for arson or endangering life, and most low-value cases dealt with in the magistrates’ court. A genuine belief that the owner consented, or that damage was necessary to protect property, can amount to lawful excuse.
Sources
- Legislation.gov.uk, “Criminal Damage Act 1971, section 1”
- Legislation.gov.uk, “Criminal Damage Act 1971, section 5”
- Legislation.gov.uk, “Criminal Damage Act 1971, section 10”
- Crown Prosecution Service, “Allocation, Sending and Committal for Sentence”
- legislation.gov.uk, Criminal Damage Act 1971, section 2
- legislation.gov.uk, Criminal Damage Act 1971, section 3
- legislation.gov.uk, Criminal Damage Act 1971, section 4