Charges Discontinued Following Successful Representations on Behalf of Vulnerable Client with Mental Health Issues

Our client was charged with attempted burglary and threatening behaviour with intent to cause someone to believe that immediate unlawful violence would be used against them.

Our client attended an address claiming he had left some items in the garage. The owner of the address confirmed there was nothing in the garage, to which our client became aggressive, made threats and attempted to force entry to the damage. This was captured on ring doorbell footage.

We obtained a psychiatric report which found that our client was suffering from psychosis at the time of the alleged offence.

The representations argued that the evidential stage for attempted burglary was not met. The mental element of the offence is intention to steal; however, our client was delusional and honestly believed that his belongings were in the garage. If he was acting on his honest belief, then he was not being dishonest and had no intention to permanently deprive anyone of their property.

We also argued that it was not in the public interest to prosecute our client due to his mental health issues. The guidance in the Code for Crown Prosecutors states that they should have regard to whether the suspect is affected by any significant mental ill health, and that this may mean prosecution is less likely required.

The prosecution considered our representations and decided to discontinue both charges because there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.

Our client can continue to receive mental health support and supervision in the community.

Daniel Cavaglieri and Ellie Godwin acted in this case.