ACCESSORIES and ABETTORS ACT 1861

  Officers and Councillors who abuse their positions of authority should be prosecuted under the Fraud Act 2006, a pension would then be proceeds of crime and not payable.

BROTHERHOOD - Police officers band together to protect each other and their chums in other local authorities. But, every once in a while a whistleblower or other turn of events reveals that there is corruption and that there has been a cover up.

GUILTY & PROSECUTABLE

'Aiding and abetting' is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets in the commission of a crime. It exists in a number of different countries and generally allows a court to pronounce someone guilty for aiding and abetting in a crime even if they are not the principal offender. In civil terms regarding damages, this is termed vicarious liability.

In the United Kingdom Parliament enacted The 'Accessories and Abettors Act 1861', This stature provides that an accessory to an indictable offence shall be treated in the same way as if he had actually committed the offence himself or herself. Section 8 of the Act, as amended, reads:

"Whosoever shall aid, abet, counsel, or procure the commission of any indictable offence, whether the same be an offence at common law or by virtue of any Act passed or to be passed, shall be liable to be tried, indicted, and punished as a principal offender."

SUMMARY OFFENCES

The Act does not apply to summary offences, but section 44 (1) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 is to the like effect:

"A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission by another person of a summary offence shall be guilty of the like offence... "

CASE LAW

In AG's Reference (No 1 of 1975) (1975) QB 773, Lord Chief Justice Widgery stated that the words in section 8 should be given their ordinary meaning.

- The natural meaning of "to aid" is to "give help, support or assistance to" and it will generally although not necessarily take place at the scene of the crime. It is not necessary to prove that there was any agreement between the principal and the alleged accessory, nor is there a need to prove a causative link between the aid and the commission of the offence by the principal.

- The natural meaning of "to abet" is "to incite, instigate or encourage" and this can only be committed by an accessory who is present when the crime is committed. This does imply either an express or implied agreement between the parties although there is no need to prove any causative link between what the abettor did and the commission of the offence.

- "To counsel" is "to encourage" and most usually covers advice, information, encouragement or the supply of equipment before the commission of a crime. It implies agreement with the principal.

In R v Clarkson (1971) 3 AER 344, the defendant merely watched while fellow soldiers raped a woman in their barracks in Germany. Counselling or advising must have an effect on the mind of the principal to constitute the necessary encouragement in fact, so Clarkson was found not guilty. No causative link between the counselling and the commission of the full offence is required so long as the offence committed was within the scope of the counselling.

In R v Calhaem (1985) 2 AER 266, the defendant paid a private detective to murder a woman and was charged with counselling or procuring the murder. It was held that the offence committed must be within the scope of the counselling, i.e., the principal does not deliberately depart from the plan. The detective merely intended to frighten the woman but hit her with a hammer. If, however, the accessory does not specify what offence is to be committed, but leaves it to the principal to decide what offence is to be committed, the accessory will be liable.

- "To procure" means "to produce by endeavour, by setting out to see that it happens and taking the appropriate steps to produce that happening". The principal can be entirely "innocent" of the procurer's acts so long as there is proof of a causal link between the procuring and the commission of the offence by the principal offender, e.g., as in AG’s Reference (No 1) (1975) 2 AER 684, spiking a drink procures a drunk-driving offence.

- R v Betts and Ridley (1930) 22 Cr App R 148 is a landmark case in English criminal law from 1930, which established that to be convicted of a crime under the doctrine of Common purpose, it was not necessary for an accessory to actually be present when the offence was carried out.

ALL SEEING EYE - Seen as an elite club for business and other ambition, the Masons do a lot of good. Unfortunately, like any institution, this brotherhood will contain members that err on the wrong side of the law. It is those members that bring the majority of honest members into disrepute.

Freemasonry, as it exists in various forms all over the world, has a membership estimated by the United Grand Lodge of England at around six million worldwide. The fraternity is administratively organised into independent Grand Lodges (or sometimes Grand Orients), each of which governs its own Masonic jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. The largest single jurisdiction, in terms of membership, is the United Grand Lodge of England (with a membership estimated at around a quarter million). The Grand Lodge of Scotland and Grand Lodge of Ireland (taken together) have approximately 150,000 members. In the United States total membership is just under two million.

LINKS & REFERENCE

Sussex Masons

Government publications 2010 to 2015 government policy local council transparency and accountability

2010 to 2015 Government policy local council transparency and accountability

Government policies local council transparency and accountability

Government news guidance to help councillors with new transparency agenda

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessories_and_Abettors_Act_1861

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/24-25/94/section/8

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/24-25/94/contents/enacted

https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/local-council-transparency-and-accountability

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-guidance-to-help-councillors-with-new-transparency-agenda

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2010-to-2015-government-policy-local-council-transparency-and-accountability

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry

http://www.sussexmasons.org.uk/

http://twitter.com/JaspJackson

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