Borrowing & Stealing; the differences

Stealing is a crime. It is when someone knows they must not take something that does not belong to them and take it anyway, The property belongs to someone else. The person who has taken it does not intend to give it back to the person who owns it. Sometimes, we use the word 'victim' to describe someone who has had a crime committed against them. A crime is when someone does something that the law says they should not do.

Someone who steals may be sent to prison after a court has found them guilty of the crime. A 'court' is a place where people trained to know about the law listen to the facts and decide, when they have heard all the facts, whether there is enough information to say that a crime has been committed.

If they believe that a crime has been committed, after they have listened to all the facts, they then must decide whether the person who is accused - who the police and the prosecutors say did the crime - is, in fact, guilty - that means the facts show that the person was responsible for committing the crime.

How stealing affects victims

Unfortunately, someone is always hurt by stealing.

In the last year (1), the average family paid more than £120 extra on their shopping bill to cover the cost of items shoplifted from stores.

Taking something that does not belong to you can have terrible consequences on the person you steal from. They are likely to feel sad and unsafe.

How do you think someone may feel if they had something stolen from them? Make a list of all the things you think someone may feel if they had something stolen from them.