Inchoate Offences

Question 1

Statutory Basis: Assisting and Encouraging

Answer 1

Part 2 Serious Crime Act 2007 creates 3 new offences derived from proposals in Law Com 300:

S 44: Intentionally Encouraging/ Assisting An Offence

S 45: Encouraging/ Assisting Believing a Crime will be committed

S46: Encouraging/ Assisting Believing one or more offences will occur

Question 2

Sadique

Answer 2

S46 crime challenged as lacking certainty for the purposes of the EU treaties and the ECHR
Was held not to be too vague

Question 3

Statutory Basis: Attempt

Answer 3

Criminal Attempts Act 1981

1. Act only applies to indictable offences, not summary crimes
2. Cannot attempt to be a secondary party/ conspirator
3. Can attempt the serious crime act 2007 offences of assisting/encouraging

Question 4

Attempt: Actus Reus

Answer 4

1. Person Does an act

2. More than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence

Question 5

Pearman

Answer 5

Attempt: Mens Rea

Intention (Same as common law)

Question 6

Whybrow

Answer 6

Attempt: Mens Rea

To be guilty of attempted murder there must an attempt to kill not merely GBH

Question 7

Khan

Pace

Answer 7

Attempt: MR, Recklessness?

CA allowed a conviction for attempted rape on the basis that D was subjectively reckless
Pointed out that if D had succeeded he would have had MR and AR for rape

Accepted Khan but emphasised that no less than subjective recklessness will suffice
(Suspicion was not enough for attempt, even though it was enough for the full offence)

Question 8

Statutory basis: Impossible Attempts

Answer 8

Criminal Attempts Act 1982 S1(2), (3)

Where a person’s intention would not normally be regarded as having amounted to an intent to commit an offence, it may be considered if, on the facts as he believed them to be he would have had the necessary intent, in order to make out an attempt

Question 9

Shivipuri

Answer 9

Impossible Attempts

D thought he was in possession of a controlled drug, but it was actually harmless vegetable snuff
Was held that he could be guilty of the attempt to posses the drugs he thought he had- it was clear that he had the intention to possess them!

Question 10

Statutory Basis: Conspiracy

Answer 10

Criminal Law Act 1977 S.1

The essence of statutory conspiracy is agreement as to a course of conduct that will amount to the commission of any offence, or would do so but for the existence of facts which render that commission impossible

Applies to both summary and indictable offences

Question 11

Criminalisation of conspiracy: policy reason

Answer 11

Policy reason for prohibiting conspiracy is that legislators believe people planning to break the law together are more dangerous than on their own- they egg each other on

Question 12

Shillam

Answer 12

Conspiracy AR

Agreement should amount to a shared criminal purpose
Not enough to merely have similar/parallel intentions

Question 13

Chrastny

Answer 13

Conspiracy AR

D must know of the existence of the other’s involved in the plan, but does not necessarily have to have met them
This allows for there to be a chain of conspiracy- A recruits B who recruits C

Question 14

Saik

Answer 14

Cannot have a conspiracy where the parties are merely reckless

Question 15

Anderson

Answer 15

D agreed to supply equipment for a prison breakout, defence was that he was only doing it for money and had no intention with regard to the plot being carried out
HL twisted the rule and said that he could be a co-conspirator as he had played his part by supplying the equipment
Perhaps aiding and abetting would be a better charge?

Question 16

Goddard

Answer 16

D agreed to supply equipment for a prison breakout, defence was that he was only doing it for money and had no intention with regard to the plot being carried out
HL twisted the rule and said that he could be a co-conspirator as he had played his part by supplying the equipment
Perhaps aiding and abetting would be a better charge?

Question 17

Recklessness?

Answer 17

Act makes it clear that recklessness as to circumstances is not enough