If a person has anything in his or her custody, in the custody of another person, in or on premises or gives custody of the thing to a person who is not lawfully entitled to possession of the thing, and the thing may be reasonably suspected of being stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained, that person may be charged with “good in custody”.
This is a very common charge preferred by police as it is an offence that does not involve much evidence from the police to be able to make out the offence and it often then falls back on the accused person to show that they are not guilty of the offence. It does not require the police to prove that the thing is stolen or unlawfully obtained. It is the suspicion attached to the goods that is sufficient. Cash is often the subject of this type of charge.
Section 527C of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) states that any person can be convicted of unlawfully possessing goods if he/she:
(a) has any thing in his or her custody,
(b) has any thing in the custody of another person,
(c) has any thing in or on premises, whether belonging to or occupied by himself or herself or not, or whether that thing is there for his or her own use or the use of another, or
(d) gives custody of any thing to a person who is not lawfully entitled to possession of the thing, which is stolen.
Example of this offence
An example of this offence is if a friend illegally obtains a gold watch and gives it to you, and you know that it was stolen.
Penalty
If the ‘thing’ is a motor vehicle, the maximum penalty for possession is 1 year imprisonment.
For any other object, the maximum penalty is 6 months.
Defences
Some defences available to this offence include duress, and necessity. It is a defence to the charge if the accused person can satisfy the Court that he or she had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the thing referred to in the charge was stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained.
Also, according to section 527C(2), if the defendant satisfies the court that he or she had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the ‘thing’ was stolen or unlawfully obtained.
How can Prime Lawyers help you?
If you have been charged with Goods in Custody, our experienced criminal lawyers can advise you on whether it would be likely that you need to make out the defence. It often depends on the strength of the prosecution case and the surrounding circumstances.
As with most offences that relate to “possession” or “custody” there may also be legal arguments as to whether you were actually in custody of the subject goods and we may be able to successfully defend the charge on that ground.
We are also often successful in convincing the police to withdraw the charge before it proceeds to a final hearing. Again, one of our criminal lawyers can advise you as to whether it would be appropriate under the circumstances to writing to the police on your behalf seeking withdrawal of the charge.