Discuss the crime of receiving stolen property. What are the mens rea and actus reus of receiving stolen property? What is the purpose of the requirement that receivers have to intend to keep the property permanently?

Question

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Answer 1

Receiving stolen property is benefiting from someone else's property without having participated in the wrongful acquisition in the first place. Receiving stolen property actus reus is the act of receiving the property. Receiving requires that the receiver control the property, at least briefly. But the receiver doesn't have to possess the property physically. Receiving stolen property mens rea varies. In some states, receivers have to know the goods are stolen. In others, believing the goods are stolen is enough. In all jurisdictions, knowledge may be inferred from surrounding circumstances, such as receiving goods from a known thief or buying goods at a fraction of their real value. Some jurisdictions require only that receivers were reckless or negligent about whether the property was stolen. Receivers have to intend to keep the property permanently. This excludes police officers who knowingly accept stolen property and secretly place it in the hands of suspected fences to catch them. They haven't received stolen property because they don't intend to keep it, only to use it as bait.