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‘‘, 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''

Criminal Attempts Act 1981 s.1(1);
‘‘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''

‘‘Attempt implies purpose. To say that ‘D' is attempting to do something means that he is acting with the purpose of accomplishing that which he is said to be attempting.''# This quote sums up the need for there to be a law of attempts in that even though for whatever reason the accomplice has failed to complete the full criminal offence of whichever crime he has wholeheartedly attempted to commit he had the appropriate Mens Rea, the intention, his purpose, his aim was to commit the full criminal offence emphasising the need for the law of attempts to exist, to deter, prevent and punish would be full offenders in their criminal ways.

Liability for attempts in English criminal law requires its own special Mens Rea and Actus Rea elements, the accused to be liable under the law of attempt must possess both such elements ‘‘the conduct of the accused and his state of mind at the time of that conduct.''# On the issue of Attempts one may argue however ‘‘that intent (mens rea) is the essential ingredient of the offence of attempt''# evident in s. 1(1) CAA 1981 ‘‘If, with intent to commit an offence..''# The other requirement of section 1(1) is that the accused is to have done something or taken certain steps which were ..‘‘more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence..''# Section 1(1) leads to the arising questions of proving intent and the question of what is meant by more than merely preparatory? What conduct or acts of an accused are seen as mere preparations excluding liability for the offence of attempt? And does the threshold of the meaning of mere preparations vary with the nature of the attempted offence? The obvious but important underlying issue of...

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