Accessory after the Fact Flashcards
What is A.A.T.F
A person who assists offender, or destroys or tampers with evidence to help offender avoid arrest or conviction or escape after arrest
Legislation
s71 C.A 61
1) a.a.t.f is one who, knowing person to have been party to offence, receives, comforts or assists person or tampers with or actively suppresses evidence to avoid arrest/conviction or escape after arrest
Penalty section
s312 C.A 61
Everyone who is a.a.t.f to any imprisonable offence, & offence has no express provision for punishment, is liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years if life imprisonment offence, or not exceeding 5 years if 10+ year imprisonment offence. Any other cases penalty is no more than half max penalty of offence.
Elements - what needs to be proved
- person who is received, comforted, assisted by accessory is a party to offence committed.
- at time of, accessory knows person was party to offence.
- accessory received, comforted, assisted person or tampered with/actively suppressed evidence
- at time of, accessory’s purpose was to enable person to escape after arrest, or avoid arrest or conviction
Party
Any person involved in any of or all stages of preparing, attempting or actually committing offence. Includes anyone who incites, counsels another to commit
Offence/Crime
Words used interchangeably & no material difference. Means any act or omission punishable on conviction under any enactment.
Offence must be complete
To be accessory must occur after offence is complete.
R v Mane
To be considered an accessory after the fact, acts must be done after completion of offence
Knowing to be a party
Simester and brookbanks outlines knowing to know or correctly believe. Belief must be correct, where belief is wrong someone cannot know something.
R v Crooks
Knowing means actual knowledge or belief in the sense of having no real doubt that the person assisted was a party to the relevant offence. Mere suspicion is not sufficient.
Knowing
At the time of assistance, accessory must possess
- knowledge offence committed, and,
- person assisted is a party
Where knowledge comes after assistance given, not liable as an accessory
R v Briggs
Knowledge may also be inferred from wilful blindness or deliberate abstention from making inquiries to confirm suspicion.
Wilful blindness
Considered wilfully blind in 2 situations.
1. Deliberately shuts eyes and fails to inquire because knew what the answer would be.
2. Situations where knowledge easily at hand and person realises likely truth of the matter but refrains from inquiry to not know
Actus reus
Must do deliberate act with purpose of assisting to evade justice in one of 3 ways (s71)
- escape after arrest
- avoid arrest
- avoid conviction
Intentional acts are:
Receives/comforts/assists/tampers w evidence/actively suppress evidence.
Receiving/comforting
Harbouring or offering shelter, comforting encompasses situations where accessory provides offender with food and clothing etc
Assisting
Covers significant number of situations:
- provide transport/act as lookout/identify willing buyer for stolen property/ deliberately supply false info
Evade justice
GIBBS outlines that act/s done by accessory must have helped other person in some way to evade justice
Tampers with
to alter evidence against offender - eg modify telephone records
Actively suppress
Act of concealing or destroying evidence against offender - eg washing bloodied clothes or burning clothing
Attempt to be accessory
Possible to be convicted of attempts to be accessory after the fact. In R v DH charged and convicted with attempted to be a.a.t.f of murder by assisting in an unsuccessful attempt to dispose of murder weapon
Indirect assistance
No requirement that offender is directly assisted by accessory. Eg, person A assisted by Person B, person B assisted by person C, therefore person C indirectly assisted person A
Innocent agent
Where innocent agent employed by the accessory, the actions of innocent agent will be held to be actions of accessory
Accessory’s intent
Intent held at the time of the act must be: avoid arrest/avoid conviction/escape after arrest
Mere knowledge that likely to assist is insufficient. Intent does not need to be dominant reason but must be present.
Prosecution - charging
s137 C.A 62
Proceedings against parties to/accessories/receivers
1. Applies to everyone charged as party/being accessory/receiving stolen property
2. ss(1) may be proceeded against/convicted whether or not principal offender proceeded against
3. ss(1) may be proceeded against alone for substantive offence or jointly
4. If receiver, any number of receivers at different times in respect of property may be charged
Proof of principal offence
In R v Mane court held accessory is entitled to insist in proof of alleged offence committed, and applied even if principal offender plead guilty and/or convicted, must still prove where required.
Acquittal of offender
Accessory can still be convicted despite offender acquitted.
(Eg principal offender statement inadmissible causing acquittal, but accessory evidence still proves offence).
