Attempt


Produced in partnership with Angharad Hughes of Howard Kennedy LLP
Practice notes

Attempt


Produced in partnership with Angharad Hughes of Howard Kennedy LLP

Practice notes
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A person is guilty of attempting to commit an offence if they do an act that is more than preparatory to the commission of the offence, with the intention of committing an offence. An attempt is an offence of specific intent. It requires an intention to commit an offence. The offence itself consists of both a criminal act and a mental state. In each case it is a question of fact whether the accused has gone sufficiently far towards the full offence to have committed the act of the attempt. If the accused has passed the preparatory stage the offence of attempt has been committed and it is no defence that they then withdrew from committing the completed offence.

Most attempts at committing criminal offences will be governed by section 1 of the Criminal attempts Act 1981 (CAA 1981), although some statutory exceptions apply. These include:

  1. •

    Burglary under section 9(1)(b) of the Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968), and

  2. •

    using a firearm to resist arrest under section 17 of the Firearms Act 1968 (FiA 1968)

CAA

Angharad Hughes
Angharad Hughes

Barrister, Howard Kennedy LLP

Angharad Hughes is a barrister at Howard Kennedy LLP. She came to the firm with experience of a flourishing criminal defence practice from a leading criminal set. Angharad’s instructions cover a wide range of matters including violent crime, dishonesty, confiscation, weapons, drugs, road traffic and public order offences. She also has experience in bringing private prosecutions on behalf of corporate entities.

She now specialises in financial and complex crime, civil recovery and fraud. She is known for her ability to quickly and competently grasp central issues.

She is also the founder of Griffin-LAW, a pro-bono project advancing social mobility at the Bar.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Criminal attempts definition
What does Criminal attempts mean?

It is an offence to commit an attempt to commit any indictable offence other than conspiracy, aiding and abetting an offence or assisting offenders or accepting/agreeing to accept consideration for not disclosing information about a relevant offence.

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