Can Dishonesty Be Salvaged? Theft and the Grounding of the MSC Napoli

The purpose of this article is to consider the lack of certainty surrounding the law on dishonesty in theft in the context of events that occurred on Branscombe beach following the grounding of the MSC Napoli on the South Devon coast in January 2007—that is the ‘looting and plundering’ of the containers that came ashore. It will be contended that the hesitant response of the police to the incident may be explained, in part, by uncertainty in the law on dishonesty. Further, it will be argued that the offence of theft is contrary to the rule of law and that the Napoli incident highlights the need for a statutory definition of dishonesty that replicates the law in New Zealand.