Smith ― The Law of Theft

Smith's Law of Theft has long been established as the standard work on the subject and is frequently cited in the Court of Appeal. Now in its ninth edition, the book provides a detailed and critical account of the law of theft and related dishonesty offences. It contains the full, amended text of relevant legislation (notably, the Theft Acts 1968, 1978, and 1996) together with a detailed analysis of the provisions of the statutes and the extensive case law which has grown up around them.

This ninth edition has been updated to take full account of the Fraud Act 2006. The new Act replaces numerous deception offences with new fraud offences, which has prompted substantial restructuring and rewriting of the book's chapters. Other significant developments which the new edition provides extensive coverage on, include;Hinks in the House of Lords on theft and gifts; jurisdictional issues arising from Smith; and new procedural issues arising from the fraud protocol and the imminent introduction of judge only trials.

A whole new chapter on conspiracy to defraud is included in the new edition, and the full text of the Fraud Act and the fraud protocol are included in the appendices.

David Ormerod is Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Leeds and a door tenant at 18 Red Lion Court. He is the Editor, Cases and Comments, of the Criminal Law Review and his numerous publications include the new edition of Smith & Hogan Criminal Law (11/e 2005 OUP). David Williams is a barrister at 18 Red Lion Court (called 1988). He is a leading junior in white collar criminal law and contributed to Fraud: Law & Practice (2004, LNUK).