Recklessness (Criminal Damage)

Recklessness (Criminal Damage)

1. Belief

   • R v Smith [1974]: Installed wiring, covered with panels in rented house. Damaged panels when removing wiring. They had become part of landlords property. Honest belief whether justifiable or not that the property is D's own negatives the element of MR
   • R v Denton [1981]: Set employers building on fire for benefit of business, gave evidence employer had encouraged. Belief in consent = Lawful excuse.

2. Foresight/Recklessness

   • R v Cunningham [1957]: Cunningham recklessness. Gas meter from wall, releasing gas into V's room. Did not foresee risk of hurting V- conviction quashed.
   • R v Parker [1977]: Smashed phonebox handset. Didn't occur to him he might damage. Inherent association of violent action with consequences meant he could be taken to have appreciated the risk w/o it being at the forefront of his mind.
     • R v Briggs: Tries to pull door handle, it breaks. Risk created by Briggs not so inherent that it was inevitable that D had appreciated it.
   • R v Stephenson [1979]: Arson, Schizophrenic lit fire in haystack, caught fire. Recklessness = Subjective. Schizophrenic may not have been able to foresee, couldn't have appreciated risk as mentally normal person.

3. Caldwell (Objective) Recklessness

   • R v Caldwell [1982]:
   • R v Lawrence [1982]:
   • Elliott v C [1983]:
   • Shimmen [1986]
   • R v Reid [1992]:
   • R v Coles [1994]

4. Return to Subjective (Cunningham Recklessness)

   • R v G [2004]: