Criminal Damage Act 1971 Section 1 – This section creates the offence of criminal damage. This states: ‘A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence’.
Section 1 (2) creates the offence of aggravated criminal damage. It states that ‘A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property, whether belonging to himself or another (a)intending to destroy or damage any property or being reckless as to whether any property would be destroyed or damaged; and intending by the destruction or damage to endanger the life of another or being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered; shall be guilty of an offence’.
Section 1 (3) of the Act creates the offence of arson. It states, quite simply, that ‘An offence committed under this section by destroying or damaging property by fire shall be charged as arson’.