Incomplete Offences Flashcards
Incitement: S. 44 Serious Crime Act 2007
Intentionally Encouraging or Assisting an Offence.
Incitement: S. 45 Serious Crime Act 2007
Encouraging or Assisting an Offence Believing it will be Committed.
Incitement: S. 46 Serious Crime Act 2007
Encouraging or Assisting Offences Believing One or More will be Committed.
Incitement: DPP v Armstrong
It is still an offence to assist or encourage regardless whether or not this has an impact on the other persons actions. For example asking an undercover police officer for child pornography.
Conspiracy: S. 1 Criminal Law Act 1977
Statutory Conspiracy: meeting of minds to commit an offence.
Conspiracy: R v Griffiths
If one conspirator enters into separate agreements with different people, each agreement is a separate conspiracy.
Conspiracy: R v Chrastny
A husband and wife can only commit a conspiracy if their is another third party to the agreement.
Conspiracy: R v ICR Haulage Ltd.
A corporation may be a party to a conspiracy.
Conspiracy: R v McDonnell
A company and one of its directors cannot be the only parties to a conspiracy because there can be no meeting of minds.
Conspiracy: R v Kenning
An agreement to aid and abet an offence of conspiracy is not, in law, capable of constituting a statutory conspiracy.
Conspiracy: Yip Chiu-Cheung v The Queen
You cannot enter into conspiracy with an undercover police officer as they have no intention to commit the offence.
Conspiracy: Conspiracy to Defraud (Common Law)/Scott v Metropolitan Police Commissioner
An agreement by two or more persons by dishonesty to deprive a person of something which is his or to which he is or would or might be entitled to or an agreement by two or more by dishonesty to injure some proprietary right. For example making unauthorised copies of commercial films for sale.
Conspiracy: Wai Yu-Tsang v The Queen
Dishonest agreement to deceive another into acting in a way contrary to their duty. For example directors agreeing to conceal details of a bank’s trading losses to its shareholders.
Conspiracy: R v Hollinshead
You must show intent to defraud a victim. For example marketing devices to falsify gas meters and selling them, defrauding gas companies.
Attempts: S. 1 The Criminal Attempts Act 1981
If, with intent to commit an offence to which this section applies, a person does an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence, is guilty of attempting to commit the offence.
Attempts: R v Campbell
It is for the jury to decide if an act is more than merely preparatory. For example a man with an imitation gun stood within yards of a post office he intended to rob but never drew the fire arm; the defendant was found to have not acted more than merely preparatory.
Attempts: R v Bowles
It is for the jury to decide if an act is more than merely preparatory. For example police found a man in possession of a new fake will that he wanted his elderly neighbour to sign but she died before signing; the defendant was found to have not acted more than merely preparatory.
Attempts: R v Geddes
It is for the jury to decide if an act is more than merely preparatory. For example a man was found trespassing in a school bathroom with a knife, rope and tape; the defendant was found to have not acted more than merely preparatory in regard to attempting to kidnap a child.
Attempts: R v Gullefer
Courts have accepted an approach of questioning whether the defendant had embarked on the crime proper. No requirement for the defendant to have passed the point of no return.
Attempts: Mens Rea
Higher level of mens tea may be required to prove an attempt compared to the substantive offence.
Attempts: R v Whybrow
Mens rea for attempted murder is nothing less than intent to kill.
Attempts R v Jones
High level of mens rea required to prove attempted murder. For example a man was found guilty of attempted murder for breaking into a victims car and pointing a loaded gun at their head, the gun was not fired as the victim was able to disarm the man.
Attempts: Conditional Mens Rea
A defendants intent may only be conditional for example only intending to steal if there is something of value. The conditional nature of the intent is not a defence: the defendant will be judged on the facts as they believed them to be.
Attempts: R v Khan
In some attempt cases precise intention is not required. For example, in cases of attempted rape the courts accept that recklessness as to whether the victim was consenting is sufficient mens rea as this is sufficient for the substantive offence.
Impossibility: R v Shivpuri
You can conspire/attempt the impossible. For example a man was convicted of attempting to handle stolen goods despite the goods not actually being stolen.
