Criminal Attempts Flashcards
Q: What is an attempt?
Criminal Attempts Act 1981- D’s actions must be shown to have gone beyond mere preparation towards the commissioning of an offence. This is a question of fact for the court.
D’s state of mind is important when providing an attempt to show they were in the correct state of mind to commit the offence, even if they were unsuccessful in doing so.
Q: Can you attempt the impossible?
Even if the offence is impossible, a person can still be guilty of attempting it
Q: What offences can you NOT attempt?
You cannot aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring, assisting an offender or conspiracy
Q: What is statutory conspiracy?
s1 Criminal Law Act 1977
Requires DPP Authority to prosecute.
Person is guilty of the offence if they enter into an agreement with another that a course of conduct will be pursued which will amount to an offence.
Q: When can D not be convicted of this offence?
D cannot be convicted of this offence if the other person involved is either:
- A spouse or civil partner
- A person under 10 years of age
- The intended victim
Q: What is the conspiracy to defraud (common law)?
A person is guilty of the offence if 2 or more persons enter into an agreement to, by dishonestly, deprive a person of something which is theirs, or ought to be theirs, or, by dishonestly, injure some proprietary right of another.
Q: What is the offence of intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence?
s44 Serious Crime Act 2007- This is an intent office- it is stated within the Act that “foresight of a consequence is not sufficient to establish intention”.
Q: What is the offence of encouraging or assisting an offence believing it will be committed?
s45 Serious Crime Act 2007- D commits this offence if they do not act capable of encouraging or assisting an offence and believe that their act encouraged or assisted, and that the offence will be committed.
