Accessory After The Fact

Question 1

Accessory after the fact - act and section:

Answer 1

Crimes Act 1961 Section:71 Accessory after the fact
(1)
An accessory after the fact to an offence is one who, knowing any person to have been a party to the offence, receives, comforts, or assists that person or tampers with or actively suppresses any evidence against him or her, in order to enable him or her to escape after arrest or to avoid arrest or conviction.

Question 2

Penalty

Answer 2

Accessory after the fact to crime
Every one who is accessory after the fact to any imprisonable offence, being an offence in respect of which no express provision is made by this Act or by some other enactment for the punishment of an accessory after the fact, is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years if the maximum punishment for that offence is imprisonment for life, and not exceeding 5 years if such maximum punishment is imprisonment for 10 or more years; and in any other case is liable to not more than half the maximum punishment to which he or she would have been liable if he or she had committed the offence.

Question 3

Elements

Answer 3

-knowing any person to have been a party to the offence
-receives, comforts, or assists that person or tempers with or actively suppresses any evidence
-In order to enable him to escape after an arrest or to avoid arrest or conviction.

Question 4

To be an accessory what is necessary:

Answer 4

-Offence must be completed.
-knowledge of being a party to the offence must be present when assistance provided

Question 5

Knowing any person to have been a party to an offence-case law

Answer 5

R V Crook
Knowledge 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 of their involvement in the offence is insufficient.

Question 7

Wilful Blindness - Case Law

Answer 7

R V Briggs
As with a receiving charge, knowledge may also be inferred from wilful blindness or a deliberate abstention from making inquires that would confirm the suspected truth.

Question 8

Two situation a person is considered WB:

Answer 8

1) where the person deliberately shuts their eyes and fails to inquire, this is because they knew what the answer would be
Or
2) in situations where the means of knowledge are easily at hand and the person realises the likely truth of the matter but refrain from enquiring in order not to know.

Question 9

Actus Reus - 5 acts that accessory commits:

Answer 9

• receives, comforts, assists, tempers with evidence, actively suppressor evidence.

Only requirement that 1 is committed.

Question 10

Offence must be complete - case law:

Answer 10

R V MANE
To be considered an accessory, the act done by the person must be after the completion of the offence .

Question 11

Receives comfort and assist - defined

Answer 11

Receiving or comforting-Harbouring an offender or offering them shelter can be considered receiving and/or comforting

Assisting to assist covers a significant number of situations-providing transport, acting as a lookout, identifying someone willing to purchase stolen property, deliberately providing authorities with false information as to an offenders whereabouts

Question 12

Tempers with evidence - definition

Answer 12

Means to alter the evidence against their offender and example is modifying telephone records

Question 13

Actively suppressing evidence-definition

Answer 13

Actively suppressing evidence encompasses acts of concealing or destroying evidence against an offender. An example is washing bloody clothing worn to commit an offence.

Question 14

An accessories intent:

Answer 14

One of three:
Escape after arrest, avoid arrest, avoid conviction.