accessory after the fact

Question 1

what needs to be proved in an accessory after the fact charge

Answer 1

• the person (person A) who is received, comforted or assisted by the accessory (person B) is a principal or secondary party to an offence
• at the time of receiving, comforting or assisting that person (person A) the accessory (person B) knows that person A was a party to the offence
• that the accessory (person B) received, comforted or assisted person A or tampered with or actively suppressed any evidence against that person
• that at the time of receiving, comforting or assisting etc the accessory’s (person B) purpose was to enable that person (person A) to escape after arrest or to avoid arrest or conviction

Question 2

s71 of the crimes act 1961

Answer 2

1) an accessory after the fact to an offence is one who, knowing any person to have been a party to the offence, receives, comforts or assists that person or tampers with or actively suppresses any evidence against him, in order to enable him to escape after arrest or to avoid arrest or conviction

Question 3

what is the penalty for an accessory after the fact to an imprisonable offence

Answer 3

liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years for offences that carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and 5 years for offences that cary a maximum sentence of 10 years

Question 4

offence

Answer 4

any act or omission that is punishable upon conviction under any enactment and are demarcated into 4 categories within s6 of the criminal procedures act 2011

Question 5

knowing

Answer 5

simester and brookbanks

“knowing means knowing or correctly believing” - the belief must be a correct one, a person cannot know something if their belief is wrong

Question 6

what knowledge must an accessory possess at the time of the assistance

Answer 6

• that an offence has been committed, and
• the person they are assisting was a principal or secondary party to that offence

a person is not liable as an accessory where this knowledge comes about after the assistance

Question 7

what two situations would a person be considered wilfully blind

Answer 7

1. where they deliberately shut their eyes and fail to inquire because they knew what the answer would be, or
2. in situations where the means of knowledge are easily at hand and the person realises the likely truth of the matter but refrains from inquiring in order to know

Question 8

what intentional acts fulfil the actus reus for an accessory after the fact

Answer 8

the accessory must do one of these 5 deliberate acts:

1. receives
2. comforts
3. assists
4. tampers with evidence
5. actively suppresses evidence

Question 9

receiving or comforting

Answer 9

receives has a common law meaning and refers to harbouring an offender or offering them shelter can be considered receiving and/or comforting eg hiding a prison escapee in a basement

comforts has a common law meaning and refers to providing shelter, accommodation, food, clothing or other supplies to an offender

Question 10

assists

Answer 10

assists has a common law meaning and refers to

• providing transport
• acting as a look out
• identifying a purchaser for stolen property as a receiver
• deliberately providing authorities with false information as to an offenders whereabouts
• giving advice, information, material or services to the offender

Question 11

tampers with evidence

Answer 11

tamper means to alter evidence against the offender

eg. modifying an offenders telephone record to conceal communications that might implicate them

Question 12

actively suppresses

Answer 12

actively suppressing evidence encompasses acts of concealing or destroying evidence against an offender

eg. washing bloodied clothing repeatedly to remove evidence or setting it alight to destroy it

Question 13

attempting to be an accessory after the fact

Answer 13

r v DH

the appellant was charged and convicted with attempting to be an accessory after the fact to murder by assisting others in the unsuccessful attempt to dispose of a weapon used in a fatal robbery

Question 14

what is an example of indirect assistance

Answer 14

there is no requirement that the offender (person A) is directly assisted by the accessory (person B)

eg. person A commits offence and assisted directly by person C. person B assists person C directly but does not directly assist person A. despite this distance, person B is still an accessory after the fact to person A

Question 15

what is the intent required to be an accessory

Answer 15

the accessory must intend to enable the offender to:

• escape after arrest
• avoid arrest
• avoid conviction

mere knowledge that an act is likely to assist an offender is insufficient

Question 16

what is the difference between a party to an offence and an accessory after the fact

Answer 16

the principal difference between a party to an offence and an accessory after the fact is that parties are involved in the offence before or during its commission whereas accessories are involved after the principal offence has been committed

Question 17

under what circumstances can you charge someone as being an accessory after the fact when they have received goods dishonestly obtained

Answer 17

where the receiving of those goods was done with a view to helping the offender and enabling them to evade justice.

it is generally accepted that receivers purchase stolen property for their own gain, not to assist the principal offender. where the contrary is proved, then an accessory charge is appropriate