Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Threatening, conspiring, and attempting to commit offences

311: Attempt to commit or procure commission of offence

You could also call this:

“You can get in trouble for trying to do a crime or getting someone else to do it, even if the crime doesn't happen.”

If you try to commit a crime, but don’t succeed, you can still be punished. The punishment depends on how serious the crime is. If the crime you tried to commit has a punishment of life in prison, you could go to prison for up to 10 years for trying. For other crimes, you could get up to half of the punishment you would have gotten if you had actually committed the crime.

You can also get in trouble for trying to make someone else commit a crime, even if they don’t do it. This includes encouraging them, advising them, or trying to convince them to commit a crime. If the crime doesn’t happen, you could be punished as if you had tried to commit the crime yourself. However, sometimes there might be a different punishment written in the law for this kind of situation.

These rules apply unless there’s a specific punishment already written in this law or another law for trying to commit a particular crime.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM330795.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal law

310: Conspiring to commit offence, or

“If you plan with someone to break the law, you can get in trouble, even if you don't actually do it.”

312: Accessory after the fact to crime, or

“Helping someone who did a bad thing after they did it can get you in trouble too.”

Part 11 Threatening, conspiring, and attempting to commit offences

311Attempt to commit or procure commission of offence

Every one who attempts to commit any offence in respect of which no punishment for the attempt is expressly prescribed by this Act or by some other enactment is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years if the maximum punishment for that offence is imprisonment for life, and in any other case is liable to not more than half the maximum punishment to which he or she would have been liable if he or she had committed that offence.
Every one who incites, counsels, or attempts to procure any person to commit any offence, when that offence is not in fact committed, is liable to the same punishment as if he or she had attempted to commit that offence, unless in respect of any such case a punishment is otherwise expressly provided by this Act or by some other enactment.

Compare

1908 No 32 ss 349, 350, 351
1922 No 35 s 3