Self-Defence and the Prevention of Crime

Act

s.76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008

Purpose of the Act

To provide a complete defence to a person using self-defence, preventing crime or assisting the arrest of offenders.

Necessary Force

Firstly, force must be necessary based on the defendant's genuine belief as to the facts of a situation (s.76(3) CIJA).

Mistaken Belief

It does not matter if this belief is mistaken: in Gladstone Williams, Lord Lane stated that the defendant must be 'judged against the mistaken facts as he believes them to be'. However, s.76(5) upholds the rule set out in O'Grady that a mistaken belief cannot be relied upon where the mistake was induced by intoxication.

Reasonable Force

Secondly, the defendant may only use reasonable force. Under s.76(6) CIJA, the amount of force is not to be regarded as reasonable if it is disproportionate in the circumstances. However, under s.76(7), the defendant is not expected to 'weigh to a nicety the exact measure of any necessary action', adopting words almost identical to that of Lord Morris in Palmer. Despite this, in Martin, killing an escaped intruder with a shotgun was considered as unreasonable force.

Need to Retreat

There is also no need to retreat in such a situation (Bird).