forgery
Is shredding a document included in forgery?
<p>I'm wondering if a defendant was to take the ownership papers of a $125,000 yacht and shredded them, would it still be considered forgery since it is altering the document?</p>

<p><strong>Is shredding a Document included in Forgery?</strong></p>
<p>You don't give a jurisdiction, so for <a href="/questions/tagged/england-and-wales" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;england-and-wales&#39;" rel="tag">england-and-wales</a>: <strong>NO</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/45/section/1?timeline=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">s.1 of Forgery and counterfeiting Act 1981</a> defines forgery as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A person is guilty of forgery if he <strong>makes</strong> a false instrument, with the intention that he or another shall use it to induce somebody to accept it as genuine, and by reason of so accepting it to do or not to do some act to his own or any other person’s prejudice</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The unlawful shredding of documents would probably be <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/48/section/1?timeline=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">criminal damage</a>, <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/1?timeline=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">theft</a> or <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perverting_the_course_of_justice" rel="nofollow noreferrer">perverting the course of justice</a> depending on the circumstances.</p>

<h2>No</h2>
<p>The destruction of a document is not forgery - it's routine practice.</p>
<p>However, if the document were destroyed for an unlawful purpose, that might be a different crime - evidence tampering, attempting to pervert the course of justice, etc.</p>
