Attempts Knowledge Summary

• An attempted crime is when a defendant wants to commit a criminal offence but is unable or unsuccessful in completing the actual offence.'
• Definition: s.1 of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981:

  'if, with intent, he does an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence, he is guilty of attempting the offence.'
• Actus Reus:

  • Must be a positive act, not an omission
• • The defendant must have committed an act which is more than merely preparatory (MTMP)

  1. R v Gullefer, Lord Lane stated that MTMP meant: when the merely preparatory act comes to an end and the defendant embarks on the crime proper'. The D is at a point where they move from preparing for the crime to be at a point at which the crime could happen.
• 2. R v Geddes - Court of Appeal set out 2 questions to determine id d's actions are more than merely preparatory

  1. Has D moved from planning and preparation to execution and implementation? and
  2. Has D done an act which shows they were trying to commit the full offence?

  • Case for MTMP - A-G Ref (no 1 1992)
• • An act that is 'merely preparatory' is not an attempt.
  • Case for MP - R v Campbell
• Mens Rea

  • Intention to commit the full offence (R v Millard and Vernon)
  • Recklessness is not sufficient
  • Murder is the exception as the mens rea for the full offence is 'malice aforethought, express or implied,' whereas attempted murder is 'intention to kill' only (Whybrow)
• • Conditional Intent (Easom) - generally not enough for an attempted crime . However, in the Att-Gen Ref No 1 and 2 1979, the COA held that a conditional intent will be treated as a general intention to steal something.
  • Attempting the impossible -s.1(2) and s.1(3) shows that a D may be guilty of committing a physically (Anderton v Ryan) or legally (R v Shivpuri) impossible offence if they think they are actually doing so.
• Sentence:

  S.4(1) - same as if the full offence has been committed.