attempts AR

• requires evidence that the defendant has undertaken acts to commit the offence that are more than merely preparatory
• more than merely preparatory acts are where the defendant has moved beyond preparing to commit the offence and has actively begun to try to commit the offence
• it is not possible to commit an offence of attempt by omission
• the courts have failed to establish an exact test to establish which acts are merely preparatory / an attempt. each case will be established on an individual basis and existing precedents provide guidance
• attorney generals reference (no 1 of 1992): appeal rejected on the basis that the law does not require the defendant to have performed the last act before the crime proper, nor have reached the ‘point of no return’ for an attempt to be proved
• r v gullefer: conviction quashed, defendant had not moved beyond merely preparatory acts. it must be proved defendant had embarked upon the actual commission of the offence
• r v geddes: conviction quashed, court proposed 2 questions:

  1. has the accused moved from planning or preparation to execution or implementation?
  2. has the accused done an act showing that he was actually trying to commit the full offence or had he only got as far as getting ready or putting himself in a position or equipping himself to do so?
• r v jones: defendant contended he had not yet attempted to commit the offence as the safety catch was on the shotgun. conviction upheld, the gun being pointed at the victim sufficed as more than merely preparatory acts to the jury