Theft in Space Station 13
Theft is defined as the unlawful acquisition of another persons property with the intention of permanently depriving that person of said property. Theft can have varying degrees of severity, for example, stealing someone’s Dr. Pubber is not the same as stealing an ID access card. Petty thefts generally would not be prosecuted in a court of Space Law
Theft in Space Station 13
Theft of basic everyday items that belong to another player or the NanoTrasen corporation is classified normally as a minor crime. Standard procedure would be for security to confiscate the stolen goods and to ticket or fine the perpetrator of the theft.
Theft With Intent
Theft with intent is a little different. If security have arrested a suspicious individual and find items in their possession such as multitools, pdas that do not belong to this person, ID access cards that are for areas of the station they should not have access to or insulated gloves, it can be easily assumed that the individual is stealing items with the intent to potentially cause harm to others or commit acts against NanoTrasen, this could be something as simple as procuring more items that do not belong to them to sabotage. If the individual has not committed other crimes, they should have the items confiscated from them, a ticket and or fine, and a minimum of three minutes brig time. This crime should be logged and security should be made aware of this,
Grand Theft
Theft of weapons, high profile IDs and equipment is grand theft and is a severe crime. There is no good reason why a person should be obtaining such items, or retaining possession of them. A good person would bring them in to security if they found them, so it can only be assumed that they intended to use them to commit further crime. If an individual were to let security know they had acquired such items and was bringing them in, then holding these items would not be an act of theft. It would be a player responsibly returning them.
Prosecuting Theft:
In the case of prosecuting theft, there are there things to look at and prove.
1: Did the individual take the item with no intent of returning it? This can be proven easily, if they have acquired the item without informing anyone else then It is unlikely they wanted to return the items. If they ran from security or in front of witnesses and tried to escape, it is clear they have no intention of returning the items. If they trespassed in an area they had no right to be in, then this is easy to prove forensically, and the obtaining of these items without permission would be theft.
2: Did the individual acquire the item through force or threats? Threats which made a victim fear for their safety are an assault, and should be added as a charge. Physical violence in which a victim was pushed, hit, or wounded with a weapon would be a battery. This should be added to the list of charges.
3: Did the individual have items on their person that may also have been stolen or are of a suspicious nature. If so, it is possible they were aiming to use these items to commit further crime, and possibly to commit sabotage against NanoTrasen.
As the prosecution, we need to make the defense lawyer aware of every item of inculpatory evidence which is stacked against the individual. Inculpatory evidence is evidence that points to the individual committing the crime. We must also inform them of all exculpatory evidence, which is evidence that may help prove the individuals innocence. This could be an alibi, or proof that they did not commit the crime. We must do this before court, as any evidence brought to the court without being shown to the defence would be classified as tampering with evidence in Space Law and result in a potentially permanent suspension from practising Space Law and possibly demotion to the rank of clown.
You should provide a PDA message to the defence lawyer containing all evidence collected. This way there is a record that you have provided all of the necessary exculpatory and inculpatory information in the case. A copy should also be sent to the judge and security.
