Attempted Murder (Section 1 Criminal Attempts Act 1981)

Attempted Murder is an offence under s.1(1) Criminal Attempts Act 1981. A person is guilty of attempting to commit an offence if, with intent to commit an offence to which the section applies, he does an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence (s.1(1)). The section applies to any offence which, if it were completed, would be triable in England and Wales as an indictable offence (s.1(4)), and a person may be guilty of an attempt even though the facts are such that the commission of the offence is impossible (s.1(2)). Murder is an offence the sentence for which is fixed by law: a person convicted of murder shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life (Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965, s.1(1)). Maximum sentence: if the offence attempted is murder or any other offence the sentence for which is fixed by law, the person is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life (s.4(1)(a)).

In practice

This is an indictable-only offence: it must be tried at the Crown Court. The charging decision rests with the CPS (not police). Officers should photograph injuries at the earliest opportunity and again after 24-48 hours (bruising develops). Domestic abuse cases require completion of a DASH risk assessment. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).