Preliminary offences of attempt

• Actus reus of attempts

  A person does an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of an offence
• Mens rea of attempts


  With intent to commit that offence
• An attempt is where a person tries to commit an offence but for some reason fails to complete it
• Attempt (defined in s1. of 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, he is guilty of attempting to commit the offence
• Common law tests for attempt before the 1981 Act


  • The last act test
  • The proximity test
• The courts have now held these common law tests to be irrelevant, the important point is whether the defendant has done an act which is 'more than, merely preparatory'
• Cases on 'merely preparatory'

  • Attorney-General's reference (No 1 of 1992) (1993)
  • Guellefer (1987)
  • R v Geddes (1996)
  • Campbell (1990)
  • Boyle and Boyle (1987)
  • Tosti (1987)
  • Jones (1990)
• Intention required for attempt


  Normally the defendant must have the same intention as would be required for the full offence
• Cases on intention for attempt

  • Easom (1971)
  • Husseyn (1977)
  • Attorney-General's Reference (Nos 1and 2 of 1979)
  • Whybrow (1951)
  • Millard and Vernon (1987)
  • Attorney-General's reference (No 3 of 1992) (1994)
• Impossibility under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981


  A person may be guilty of attempting to commit an offence even though the facts are such that the commission of the offence is impossible
• The House of Lords decision on impossibility in Anderton v Ryan (1985) was overruled a year later in R v Shivpuri (1986)
• The dividing line between what is merely preparatory and what is an attempt is not always clear
• Attempt cannot be committed by an omission due to the wording in the Criminal Attempts Act 1981
• The Law Commission's 2009 report 'Conspiracy and Attempts' examined ways the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 improved on the common law and whether further reform is now required