Joint enterprise – are all parties liable for the acts of one?

Joint enterprise’ is a legal concept that means that people who helped in a crime in some way can be liable in the same way as if they had actually committed the crime.

A person who helps or encourages another person to commit a crime is known as an ‘accessory’ or a ‘secondary party.’

Examples of possible ‘joint enterprise’

So for example, two people may decide to carry out a burglary. One person goes into the property to steal something, while the other person acts as the lookout. Even though the lookout didn’t go in to steal anything, he or she can still be prosecuted and punished as though they had entered the property.

Or if one person provides a weapon to another so that they can use it in a robbery, the person who supplied the weapon may be an accomplice to the crime.

Joint enterprise could be used in all sorts of crimes including violence, theft, fraud, and public order offences.

A controversial area of law

Over the years, ‘joint enterprise’ has attracted some controversy in the way it has been interpreted in the legal courts.

It has often been applied inconsistently and there appears to be evidence that it unfairly targets racial stereotypes. Young, black men are more likely than any other groups to be found guilty in relation to a joint enterprise crime, usually on the assumption that they are part of a gang.

This means that bystanders, or people involved in less serious criminal offences can end up being convicted of very serious offences like murder or manslaughter.

In fact, one person was convicted for murder after he said “let him have it” before his friend killed a police officer. On the face of it, that seems like quite a soft reason for convicting somebody of murder.

The reason we ended up with some unusual decisions like this one is that the courts used determine what the accessory person could have foreseen in the circumstances, rather than what he actually intended. This led to a lot of prosecutions that were possibly too harsh for the level of involvement of the accessory person.

Current situation

In 2016, there was a change in the law to give better guidance on how to interpret joint enterprise.

Now the rule is that a member of a group cannot be found guilty of an offence unless there is proof that he positively intended that it should be committed. If they just had possible foresight of what someone else might do, that will not be enough to convict them in joint enterprise.

This change helps to protect young and vulnerable people who are unwittingly drawn into dangerous situations.

However, there are still concerns about how joint enterprise is applied in cases of murder. If a person is convicted of murder, even as a secondary party, they will be given a mandatory life sentence. This may seem unduly harsh if the secondary party had very little involvement in the crime.

Upcoming changes

Campaign groups have been lobbying parliament to bring about more changes to the doctrine of joint enterprise.

At the moment, there is draft legislation called the Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill, which is currently working its way through the system. If this becomes law, then the level of a defendant’s contribution to a crime would be taken into consideration.

How we can help

If you’ve been accused of helping somebody to commit a crime, you could be punished as if you had actually committed the crime. That might result in a prison sentence.

You need somebody on your side who understands the complexity of the law in this area, and that’s where our experts come in. We can help you with police interviews, preparing your defence, and representing you at trial to give you the best possible outcome.

Please give us a call if you would like to discuss your situation in a confidential, no obligation chat.

Harewood Law are based in Leeds, near Bradford, Halifax, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Keighley and we cover West Yorkshire and across the UK, so contact Harewood Law today.

Harewood Law regularly instruct leading experts in this area and we can assist, guide and advise on the type of expert that is most relevant in your particular circumstance. Please contact our team today on 0333 3448377 or email us on info@harewoodlaw.com and we will be more than happy to assist.