11. Criminal Damage

This chapter discusses the law and theory on criminal damage. Criminal damage involves the defendant intentionally or recklessly destroying or damaging property belonging to another. The defendant will have a defence if he or she was acting with a lawful excuse. Four criminal damage offences are found in the Criminal Damage Act 1971: basic criminal damage, arson, aggravated criminal damage, and aggravated arson. There is also an offence of racially aggravated criminal damage. The chapter also considers the Computer Misuse Act 1990, which was designed to protect information kept on computers.

8. Theft, Handling, and Robbery

This chapter begins with a discussion of the law on theft, robbery, assault with intent to rob, handling stolen goods, and money laundering offences. The second part of the chapter focuses on the theory of theft, covering property offences; the debate over Gomez; the Hinks debate; temporary appropriation; dishonesty; robberies; and handling stolen goods.

4. Strict Liability

A strict liability offence is one where it is not necessary to prove any mental state of the defendant. All that needs to be shown is that the defendant caused a particular result or carried out a particular act. This chapter discusses the offences that are strict liability; when a court will not presume mens rea; what mens rea will be presumed; the Human Rights Act 1998 and strict liability offences; common law defences and strict liability offences; possession offences; and the arguments for and against strict liability.

15. Complicity

This chapter begins with a discussion of the law of complicity, covering principals and accomplices; five ways one can be an accomplice; mens rea for accomplices; secondary participation and inchoate offences; conviction of the secondary party and acquittal of the principal; whether a secondary party can be guilty of a greater offence than the principal; withdrawal by a secondary party; accessories and victims; and assistance after the offence. The second part of the chapter focuses on accessories and the theory of complicity, covering general theories of accessorial liability; theories of accessorial mens rea; the theory of joint enterprise; actus reus issues; withdrawal; and law reform.

12. Defences

This chapter begins with a discussion of the law on defences. It covers private defence and the prevention of crime; necessity; chastisement; consent; duress; coercion; entrapment; superior orders; automatism; insanity; diminished responsibility; loss of control; intoxication; and mistake. The second part of the chapter focuses on the theory of defences, covering the definition of defences; justifications and excuses; character, choice, and capacity; determinism; the rejection of an overarching theory; insanity; private defence; duress; necessity; and issues that fall between the gaps of the defences.

10. Burglary and Blackmail

This chapter discusses the law and theory on burglary and blackmail. The offence of burglary is committed where a defendant enters a building as a trespasser with intent to commit one of the offences listed in section 9 of the Theft Act 1968. It is also committed where a defendant has entered a building as a trespasser and then committed one of a list of other offences. To be guilty of blackmail, a defendant must make unwarranted demands with menaces with a view to making a gain for him or herself or a loss to another.

7. Sexual Offences

This chapter considers the offences of rape and sexual assault. It begins with a discussion of the law on sexual offences covering the perpetrators and victims of rape; assault by penetration; causing sexual activity without consent; sexual offences designed to protect children; offences against those with a mental disorder; prostitution and trafficking; and incest. The second part of the chapter focuses on the theory of sexual offences and sexual crimes; statistics on rape; the nature of rape; consent and sexual activity; the mens rea for rape; and the actus reus of rape.

6. Non-Fatal Non-Sexual Offences Against the Person

This chapter discusses a wide range of offences against the person: from an unwanted touching on an arm to a life-threatening attack. Key to the law is the right to bodily integrity: a person should not be touched against his or her wishes. This right is protected under the common law and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Topics covered include assault and battery; assault occasioning actual bodily harm; malicious wounding; wounding with intent; poisoning; racially and religiously aggravated crimes; the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; threats offences; transmitting disease; consent and assault; the true nature and extent of violent crime; the nature of an assault; objections to and reform of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861; and emotional and relational harm.

5. Homicide

This chapter discusses homicide in the criminal law, which can be divided into the following categories: murder, manslaughter, infanticide, and a number of specific offences concerned with causing death while driving. It considers suicide pacts, mercy killing, and euthanasia, homicide statistics, non-homicide killings, and diminished responsibility. Significant academic and political energy is put into homicide law, given the relatively few homicide offences that take place each year. What this reveals is that the law’s approach to homicide has great symbolic importance in both political and legal terms.

13. The Criminal Liability of Corporations

This chapter begins with a discussion of the law on corporate criminality, covering the difficulty in convicting companies of crimes; corporate killing; and vicarious liability. The second part of the chapter focuses on theoretical issues in corporate liability, covering the reality of corporate crime; the clamour for corporate liability; whether a company should be guilty of a crime; and what form corporate crime should take.