According to the Theft Act 1968, which statement describes the essential element of theft?

• A. Borrowing property without return
• B. Taking property without consent and keeping it temporarily
• C. A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it
• D. Property of owner with permission

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that theft requires a dishonest act of taking property belonging to someone else with the intention to permanently deprive the owner of it. That combination—dishonesty, appropriation (taking or assuming the owner’s rights), property of another, and the intent to permanently deprive—defines theft under the Theft Act 1968. The statement that best captures this is the one describing dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another with the aim of permanently depriving them of it.

Borrowing without return isn’t theft if there’s no intention to deprive permanently; taking something temporarily and keeping it briefly likewise lacks that permanent-deprivation element; and taking property with the owner’s permission isn’t theft at all because there’s no appropriation of property against the owner’s rights.