Assisting an offender?
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Discussion

rambo19

Original Poster:

2,932 posts

160 months

Monday 3rd October 2022
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After 2 arrests in the Olivia Pratt-Korbel killing, how can someone be arrested for assisting an offender if that person has not been found guilty of an offence?
Or am I being thick?

gmasterfunk

482 posts

171 months

Monday 3rd October 2022
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Suspicion of.. ?

peterperkins

3,304 posts

265 months

Monday 3rd October 2022
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Reasonable grounds to suspect...


If the Police came round to your house and found a suspected murderer there it would be reasonable to suspect you had been assisting that individual in some way. Evade capture, lie low, food and shelter etc etc.

Pica-Pica

16,080 posts

107 months

Monday 3rd October 2022
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gmasterfunk said:
Suspicion of.. ?
‘Charged with assisting an offender’, I believe.

Sgt Bilko

1,929 posts

238 months

Monday 3rd October 2022
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Alleged to have disposed of clothing and weapon apparently.

Geffg

1,331 posts

128 months

Monday 3rd October 2022
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I assume maybe wrongly they won’t go to court until the offender does or afterwards.

BertBert

20,911 posts

234 months

Monday 3rd October 2022
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Pica-Pica said:
gmasterfunk said:
Suspicion of.. ?
‘Charged with assisting an offender’, I believe.
Is it that you are arrested on the suspicion of something and the charged (if you are) with the something?

Interesting though if there was compelling evidence that he had helped, but then the offender was found not guilty for some reason.

Canon_Fodder

1,775 posts

86 months

Monday 3rd October 2022
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BertBert said:
Interesting though if there was compelling evidence that he had helped, but then the offender was found not guilty for some reason.
read that back Bert - it's absurd.

Plod are laying on the muscle but - surely obviously - no crime or wrong person = no offence to assist with same

Mr Miata

1,220 posts

73 months

Tuesday 4th October 2022
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peterperkins said:
Reasonable grounds to suspect...


If the Police came round to your house and found a suspected murderer there it would be reasonable to suspect you had been assisting that individual in some way. Evade capture, lie low, food and shelter etc etc.
What if you didn’t know your flat mate is a suspected offender? And how do they prove you were knowingly assisting him?

Largechris

2,019 posts

114 months

Tuesday 4th October 2022
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Mr Miata said:
peterperkins said:
Reasonable grounds to suspect...


If the Police came round to your house and found a suspected murderer there it would be reasonable to suspect you had been assisting that individual in some way. Evade capture, lie low, food and shelter etc etc.
What if you didn’t know your flat mate is a suspected offender? And how do they prove you were knowingly assisting him?
If your mate is asking you to get rid of a gun then odds on he's an offender.

Roger Irrelevant

3,319 posts

136 months

Tuesday 4th October 2022
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Canon_Fodder said:
BertBert said:
Interesting though if there was compelling evidence that he had helped, but then the offender was found not guilty for some reason.
read that back Bert - it's absurd.

Plod are laying on the muscle but - surely obviously - no crime or wrong person = no offence to assist with same
Nope. You can be guilty of assisting if you have either knowledge or belief that the principal is going to commit a crime. Example: a shopkeeper sells you a kitchen knife in the belief that you are going to commit a murder with it. At this stage you aren't guilty of anything, you've just bought a kitchen knife. The shopkeeper is however guilty of assisting - and is guilty of assisting even if you have a change of heart and just use it to chop tomatoes.

rambo19

Original Poster:

2,932 posts

160 months

Tuesday 4th October 2022
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So should it be 'assisting an alleged offender'.

Pica-Pica

16,080 posts

107 months

Tuesday 4th October 2022
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rambo19 said:
So should it be 'assisting an alleged offender'.
Allegedly.

BertBert

20,911 posts

234 months

Tuesday 4th October 2022
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Canon_Fodder said:
read that back Bert - it's absurd.

Plod are laying on the muscle but - surely obviously - no crime or wrong person = no offence to assist with same
In what way?
Imagine that the evidence against both is compelling that they did it.
Then the offender gets off on a procedural miss-step. Does the assistant still stand a chance of getting done for something or other?

Bigends

6,020 posts

151 months

Tuesday 4th October 2022
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Heres the rules

Where a person has committed [F1a relevant offence], any other person who, knowing or believing him to be guilty of the offence or of some [F2other relevant offence], does without lawful authority or reasonable excuse any act with intent to impede his apprehension or prosecution shall be guilty of an offence.
[F3(1A)In this section and section 5 below, “ relevant offence ” means—
(a)an offence for which the sentence is fixed by law,
(b)an offence for which a person of 18 years or over (not previously convicted) may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five years (or might be so sentenced but for the restrictions imposed by section 33 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980).]

More here

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1967/58/secti...

timbob

2,194 posts

275 months

Wednesday 5th October 2022
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BertBert said:
In what way?
Imagine that the evidence against both is compelling that they did it.
Then the offender gets off on a procedural miss-step. Does the assistant still stand a chance of getting done for something or other?
It’s all about the belief or intent - if the person knew or believed the suspect to have committed the crime (“here, can you burn these clothes I was wearing when I killed xyz”), then they commit the offence regardless of whether or not the primary suspect is found guilty or not. The assisting an offender is a standalone offence.

Draxindustries1

1,657 posts

46 months

Wednesday 5th October 2022
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No one on this forum has privy to information the police have on this other guy. No one knows what part in this heinous crime he had.
Instead of speculation just wait for the evidence in court..

mac96

5,732 posts

166 months

Wednesday 5th October 2022
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Draxindustries1 said:
No one on this forum has privy to information the police have on this other guy. No one knows what part in this heinous crime he had.
Instead of speculation just wait for the evidence in court..
Well, if we are not allowed to speculate about stuff we don't know much/anything about, there won't be much left of Pistonheads!

Mojooo

13,287 posts

203 months

Wednesday 5th October 2022
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If I went and banged on a my best mates door and said I've just killed someone in anger - could he dispose of my clothes and the knife - and he did so.

If it all then turned out to be a prank and there was no murder - has he committed an offence?

Canon_Fodder

1,775 posts

86 months

Wednesday 5th October 2022
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Mojooo said:
If I went and banged on a my best mates door and said I've just killed someone in anger - could he dispose of my clothes and the knife - and he did so.

If it all then turned out to be a prank and there was no murder - has he committed an offence?
No