Criminal Attempts

• A person may not have to complete a crime to be guilty.  Triable either way offences such as theft and indictable offences such as murder can also be attempted crimes.  The maximum punishment for attempted theft and attempted murder are the same as for the full offences.
• The law on attempts is contained in the Criminal Attempts Act 1981. This Act tells us what must be proved in an attempts case.
• Attempt defined in s1 (1) 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, he is guilty of attempting to commit the offence.’

  The question of when the act is ‘more than merely preparatory’ is a matter of fact and if tried on indictment will be decide by the jury.
• Actus reus of an attempt.  It must be an act and the crime attempted must be indictable or TEW and they must have:

  Done an act which is more than merely preparatory
• Holt and Lee

  Defs. Planned to leave a restaurant without paying for their meal.  Overheard by off duty police officer.

  Charged with attempt to avoid paying.

  Court said they had gone far enough with the plan to show their actions were more than merely preparatory.
• White (1910)

  W put poison in mother’s drink.  She dies before drinking it.

  Not guilty of murder.

  Guilty of attempted murder as his actions were more than merely preparatory.
• Must be more than preparatory: Campbell (1991)

  C arrested by police very close to a PO carrying a threatening note and a fake gun. 

  He admitted planning to rob the PO but claimed he had changed his mind when he was arrested.

  Conviction was quashed as there was no evidence for a jury to find his acts were more than merely preparatory.
• Geddes (1996)


  G was found in a boys toilet at school with a knife, tape and rope.

  Ld Bingham said the question was ‘had the def. actually tried to approach a child?’ As this could not be proved the defendant was not convicted.

  Generally the def. must have done something more than merely preparatory to be convicted.  This is likely to either be the last possible act before the crime itself or where a criminal plan has gone wrong, for example, a bullet misses the victim.
• Are there any issues with these decisions?

  The police must make sure they wait long enough to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the person was attempting to commit the crime.

  But

  If they wait too long it could be putting the public at risk.
• What if it is impossible to commit the crime?

  Before the 1981 Criminal Attempts Act impossibility was a defence.
• The Act says – s1(2)

  A person may be guilty of attempting to commit an offence even though the facts are that the commission of the offence is impossible.
• Shivpuri (1987)

  S brought a substance into the UK which he believed to be heroin.

  Convicted of attempting to import Class A drugs despite the fact that the drugs were harmless vegetable matter.
• Mens rea

  intent to commit the offence
• Define this using Mohan

  Decision to bring about the prohibited consequence.
• Millard & Vernon (1987)


  MR cannot be recklessness even though this might suffice for the crime itself.

  Note

  Attempted murder must be intent to kill, intent to inflict GBH will not suffice.