This crime (“P.S.P. under”) means possession of stolen property under $5,000. If you’re found guilty, it means that:

• you possessed property — or the proceeds of property (money that you got from selling the property) — that was obtained by crime, and
• you knew that this was obtained by crime — or you should have known, or you suspected that it was but you didn’t ask because you didn’t want to know the answer.

There are three ways you could have possessed the property:

Personal possession (you knew that you had the stolen object in your physical possession — for example, in your bag or in your pocket).

Joint possession (you knew that someone else had the stolen object and you had some control over it — for example, it was with a friend or relative).

Constructive possession (you knew that the stolen object was being kept for your benefit in a place under your control, whether it was your place or not — for example, a friend’s place).

Depending on the details of what happened and your criminal record, the Crown prosecutor (also called the Crown) can choose to charge you with either a summary offence or indictable offence. You could get a jail sentence for either type of offence.

If the Crown proceeds ​“summarily,” the maximum jail sentence a judge could give you is two years less a day in jail, or up to a $5,000 fine, or both. But the judge could give you a shorter sentence or a sentence that doesn’t include jail at all (especially if you don’t have a criminal record). If the Crown proceeds ​“by indictment,” the judge is more likely to give you a longer jail sentence of up to two years.

The first time you’re in court, ask the Crown if they’re proceeding ​“summarily” or ​“by indictment.” The Crown should also say whether they’re asking for a jail sentence. The Crown should also provide you with:

• particulars,
• details of the Crown’s case, and
• an Initial Sentencing Position, which tells you what the Crown would be seeking as a sentence if you were to plead guilty. 

Do not plead guilty before speaking to a lawyer.

The Crown might say they’ll:

• proceed ​“by indictment,”
• ask for a sentence that includes jail, or
• ask for a sentence that will have other serious consequences for you.

If the Crown says any of these things, immediately ask the judge to adjourn your case so you can get legal help.

If the Crown proceeds ​“by indictment” (or is asking for a jail sentence), you’ll usually have a better chance of getting legal aid — so be sure you understand how the Crown will proceed. Legal Aid BC may change its decision to not cover your case.

You can ask the court to appoint a government-funded lawyer to your case (a Rowbotham application) if:

• you can’t afford a lawyer and were denied legal aid,
• the Crown says that they’ll seek a jail sentence if you’re found guilty, or will seek any other type of sentence that will have serious consequences for you, and
• your case is too complicated for you to handle.

For more information, see the resource If You Can’t Get Legal Aid for Your Criminal Trial.

When you prepare your defence, think about what evidence you can use. Evidence includes witnesses, documents, videos, recordings, or your own personal testimony.

Make sure the Crown has given you all the evidence that they’ll use (called the disclosure), such as security videotapes or witness statements. The Crown should also tell you who they’ll call as a witness. You can send them a letter or email asking for this information. (See a sample letter in Representing Yourself in a Criminal Trial.)

Prepare to provide truthful and relevant evidence to the court. For more information about the trial process, such as how to use witnesses, prepare questions, and decide whether to testify yourself, see Representing Yourself in a Criminal Trial.

Remember: you have the right to not testify. Speak to a lawyer before you decide whether you should testify.

To defend yourself against a charge of possession of property under $5,000 obtained by crime, you may be able to use one (or more) of the following four points if they’re true:

You could explain that you bought the property legally, and show the judge your receipt.

Suppose the police found a stolen motorcycle in your backyard. Maybe you were out of town for three weeks and didn’t know anything about it. In this case, you can say that you didn’t know about the stolen property. 

Or suppose the police found a stolen lawnmower in your garage. Three years ago, you rented the garage to your neighbour, who put his own lock on it. In this case, you would explain that you didn’t have control over the stolen property and you didn’t know about it.

You might have gone to a garage sale, where you bought the property at half price. Or you might have bought it from trustworthy friends, who said they had to move. Or maybe your nephew wanted to store some stuff in your basement because he didn’t have room in his apartment.

In any of these situations, you might not have known that the property you were buying or storing was stolen.

If the police got evidence of the possession of property by violating your rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the judge might not let the Crown use that evidence. And if that happens, and there’s no other evidence proving your guilt, you can ask the judge to dismiss the charge against you.

For example, if you were a passenger in a car that was stopped for speeding, and the police decided to search you on only a suspicion that you had possession of stolen property, you can say that was an unreasonable search.

Or, if the police found the property during a search without a warrant, you may be able to say they violated your rights. The police usually aren’t allowed to search your house, or your car, without a warrant.

Under the Charter, the police must do the following when they arrest you:

• tell you immediately what they’ve arrested you for;
• tell you immediately that you can talk to a lawyer, and let you do so in private before questioning you or taking any samples;
• give you access to a phone to speak to a lawyer; and
• tell you that you can get legal help for free. (Legal Aid BC has lawyers available 24 hours a day to talk over the phone for free to people in police custody. This service is called the Brydges Line.)

Don’t make any statements to the police or anyone else before speaking to a lawyer.

If the police didn’t do all of these things (or other things that the Charter requires such as get a search warrant before searching your house or belongings), you can say that they violated your rights. You would then say that the Crown shouldn’t be able to use any statements you made or other evidence that the police got by violating your rights.

However, the judge won’t automatically throw out the evidence in question. You must also show that accepting the evidence will reflect badly on how justice is carried out in Canadian courts.

If you plan to argue that your Charter rights were violated, talk to a lawyer before your trial. Using the Charter is complicated and usually requires legal research. You must tell the Crown in advance if you plan to use this type of an argument.

At the trial, before you present your defence, the Crown will present its case against you.

The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you’re guilty of all the elements that make up the crime of possession of property under $5,000 obtained by crime. To do this, the Crown presents evidence to the court, using witnesses, documents, videos, or recordings.

If the Crown tries to use evidence that they didn’t tell you about in advance, you can object and ask the judge to dismiss the case or adjourn the trial.

You can cross-examine the Crown’s witnesses, but you’ll normally do so only if you disagree with their information. You can ask relevant questions about what the witness saw or knows. You can also ask leading questions, which means making a statement and asking a witness if they agree with it. For example, you could ask ​“Isn’t it true that you couldn’t really see what happened?” For more details about how to cross-examine, see Representing Yourself in a Criminal Trial.

For a judge to find you guilty of possession of property under $5,000 obtained by crime, the Crown must prove the following things:

The Crown must prove that you’re the person who possessed the property. To do this, the Crown will call witnesses, including police officers, to give evidence. The witnesses will probably describe the person they saw in possession of the property. Then the Crown will ask the witnesses to say if that person is in the courtroom.

The evidence, either from the witnesses or from other sources (such as fingerprints, a photograph, a video, or audio recording), must show that you’re the person who committed the crime.

The Crown must prove:

• that the crime happened in BC,
• the date of the crime, and
• the specific location where it happened.

These details are included on the Information. This is the official court form (listing the date, place, and type of offence) that the Crown will give you before the trial as a part of your particulars. The Crown must still prove these details at the trial.

Usually the Crown will call a witness to give evidence about the date and place of the crime. This witness will likely be the investigating police officer. The witness may also be the property owner.

The Crown must prove that the property wasn’t yours and that you didn’t have a right to take it. They must also prove that the property was obtained by crime. The Crown will usually do this by calling the owner as a witness. This person will:

• identify the property,
• testify that they didn’t agree to you having it, and
• describe how it was obtained by crime.

The Crown could also identify the property by showing its serial number or other noticeable marks.

Usually, the Crown will show that you had personal possession of the property. For example, you might have had the stolen object in your coat pocket or your backpack.

Sometimes the Crown will show that you had constructive possession if you helped hide or sell the stolen property. For example, maybe you had a ​“hot” motorcycle in your garage. You didn’t put it in the garage yourself, but you knew it was stolen and that it was there because you let a friend use your garage for storage. Or you asked a friend to keep the stolen object at their place for you. The Crown will argue that you had constructive possession because you had some control over this stolen property.

The Crown might also try to show that you had joint possession of the property with someone else. In this case, the police might have charged you and another person with the same crime. The Crown will argue that you both knew about and had some control over the property.

The Crown must prove you knew the property was obtained by crime. For example:

• You admitted to a police officer or another witness that you knew the property was stolen. The Crown can use anything you voluntarily said (or wrote) against you. The Crown would ask the witness to explain what you said or wrote.
• You ignored suspicious circumstances when you bought the property. For example, you bought a $500 Seiko watch for $20 from a stranger in a bar, and you didn’t ask why it was so cheap. In court, the Crown will say that you were being ​“willfully blind” if you did this. Or, you didn’t care that the watch was so cheap even though you knew the price didn’t make sense. In court, the Crown will say you were being ​“willfully blind” to the fact it was stolen.
• The property was stolen just before the police found you with it. If this happens, the court can assume that you knew the property was stolen (unless you can prove otherwise).

Don’t make any statements before talking to a lawyer.

Sometimes the Crown uses an affidavit to prove some of the points in the Crown’s case. If the Crown plans to use an affidavit, they should give you a copy of this document before the trial. If you disagree with it, or if you think it should include other information, ask the Crown and the court to make the person who swore the affidavit come to your trial. Then you can question that person about the information that they swear is true.

After the Crown finishes presenting its case, it’s your turn. 

You now have your chance to use the points you’ve prepared to use as your defence. You can use your gathered evidence, call witnesses, and, if you want to, give evidence as a witness yourself. You have the right to not testify. Ask a lawyer whether you should or not. See Representing Yourself in a Criminal Trial for more details.

After you finish presenting your defence, you close your case. Tell the judge why you think the Crown didn’t prove that you’re guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Mention if you think the Crown’s case was weak or inconsistent in any area. This summary is called your submission. See Representing Yourself in a Criminal Trial for more details.

Once you and the Crown have finished speaking, the judge will decide if you’re guilty or not. If the judge finds you guilty, you’ll receive a sentence. The sentence depends on the details of the offence and your criminal record. It could be any of the following:

• an absolute discharge (your record won’t show a conviction)
• a conditional discharge (you’ll be regarded as not having been convicted if you meet conditions that the judge sets)
• probation (a ​“suspended sentence” including various conditions, for example, community service)
• a restitution order (you must pay money to the victim)
• a fine (up to $5,000)
• a conditional sentence (most often means house arrest, which is like a jail term, but you serve it in the community)
• a jail term (up to two years less a day for a summary offence; up to two years for an indictable offence)

(Note that a judge usually only grants a discharge when an accused person pleads guilty and doesn’t have a previous criminal record.)

You get a chance to speak to the judge before they decide your sentence. (This is called speaking to sentence.) The judge will give you a chance to explain why you committed the crime, why you won’t do it again, and whether you need help for any problems you may have that were connected to the crime. Speaking to sentence is important because it gives you a chance to explain your situation to the judge. You can ask for a lower sentence than what the Crown is asking for.

Read Speaking to the Judge Before You’re Sentenced before you go to court.

The maximum fine for most summary offences is $5,000. If the judge fines you, you can ask for time to pay. Tell the judge how much you can pay each month. If you think you will run out of the time set for paying your fine, you must come back to Court and get an extension. Do this as soon as possible.

You’ll usually also have to pay a victim surcharge, which is 30 percent of your fine, or $100 for a summary offence, or $200 for an indictable offence. The judge can reduce the amount or drop the surcharge completely if you show that paying it would cause you undue hardship. For example, this could be because you:

• are unemployed,
• are homeless,
• don’t have assets, or
• have significant expenses for your dependant(s).

Being in jail isn’t an undue hardship.