‘The law in England and Wales (as in Australia and other jurisdictions) enables a person to be convicted of an offence committed by another using complicity liability, sometimes termed ‘joint enterprise’. In England and Wales, ‘joint enterprise’ has been widely criticised for: failing to distinguish between the moral and legal culpability of the person who commits the substantive offence and those on the periphery of it; being disproportionality applied in cases involving young men from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds; and for lacking legal legitimacy. Thus, it was hoped that the decision of the Supreme Court in England and Wales in 2016 to abolish the extended form of complicity liability, known as Parasitic Accessorial Liability (PAL), would resolve these issues. Reporting on interviews with police detectives, and prosecution and defence lawyers in England involved in cases of serious youth violence, this paper argues that the problems associated with ‘joint enterprise’ in England and Wales remain, despite the change in the law. This is due to there being only ‘subtle shift’ in practice and a continued reliance on racialised inferences about young men from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds. To reduce problems with disproportionality and improve the fairness of the law related to complicity liability, changes to police and prosecutorial practice are required, alongside meaningful law reform.’

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Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 29th April 2024

Source: www.tandfonline.com