Important Aspects Of The Aggravated Criminal Damage Offence

Aggravated criminal damage is similar to a criminal damage offence; the only difference is an intention to risk life. The maximum penalty for such an offence could be life imprisonment, depending on the case.

Due to the gravity of the offence, you must find legal assistance from the best Criminal Damage Lawyers at the earliest. You could contact criminal damage lawyers in Perth to help you if any of your property has been damaged due to such offences.

Elements Of The Aggravated Criminal Damage Offence

An aggravated criminal damage offence is similar to simple criminal damage with few exceptions. For an aggravated criminal damage offence, the prosecution needs to prove that the defendant damaged property belonging to another person to convict them of this offence. But the prosecution might need to prove other things like:

Intention Or Recklessness To Endanger Another Life

This indicates that while damaging the property, the defender must admit that they intentionally endangered lives or were reckless to the risk of endangering the lives of other people. 

The danger needs to be due to the destruction caused by the defender or damage towards the victim’s property. Any individual can commit aggravated damage despite whether the property belonged to them or another person.

This indicates that it will not matter who the property owner is. Even if a defendant damaged their property, they still might be convicted of the offence. This is different from simple criminal damage, where a defendant cannot be convicted of destroying their property. 

You could take the help of criminal lawyers if you have to face such situations to get justice.

Examples Of Circumstances Of Aggravated Criminal Damage Offence

Some examples of aggravated criminal damage offences are: 

• The offence was committed while the defendant deliberately inflicted pain on the victim.
• The offender either used or threatened to use offensive weapons to commit such an offence.
• The offender committed the offence against a prison officer, training centre employee, police officer or other law enforcement officers who were acting on duty or due to retribution for something they did earlier.
• The offender committed such an offence against a community corrections officer despite knowing they were on duty. 
• The victim was working under a prescribed occupation/employment.
•  The offender committed this offence to prevent the victim from taking any legal actions or as retribution for the victim having undergone legal proceedings. 
• The offender already knew that the victim was a child or in other cases below the age of 12
• The offender knew that the victim was over the age of 60
• The offender knew that the victim was an individual with whom they had a previous relationship. 
• The offender committed this offence for their benefit. 
• The victim was more prone to vulnerability due to a physical or mental impairment. 
• The offender abused the authority’s position of trust in committing the offence. 

In such cases, criminal damage lawyers could be very helpful for you. They can help with court proceedings and ensure you receive justice in the case.

Actus Reus

The Actus Reus elements of the offence for aggravated criminal damage are usually the same as a criminal damage offence. A difference in the Actus Reus is that aggravated criminal damage requires a property to be damaged, but it does not specify to whom it belongs. 

• This indicates that the defender could be guilty of an aggravated criminal damage offence concerning the property owned by them. One peculiar thing is that the defendant who damaged their property can also be guilty of the offence. 
• The aggravated criminal damage offence could serve to protect the property rights of another person. 
• The damaged property could belong to another person or be jointly held by others. But the reasoning is not very clear when the defendant damages or destroys a property owned by him. It could appear that the conviction for aggravated criminal damage would seem like protecting against the endangerment of another individual’s life. 

It might not seem to be a part of the offence’s Actus Reus and not the statute’s purpose. This aims to deal with actual or threatened damage to an individual’s property. Even criminal defence lawyers could be confused in such cases, which would take more time to come to a judgment.

Final Words

If you are the victim of aggravated criminal damage, you need not worry and instead contact criminal defence lawyers in Perth to handle such cases. Due to the expertise and experience of such lawyers, they can help you get justice and receive damage expenses from the offender. With their help, you can be assured of receiving justice.