Misconduct in Public Office

This offence arises where a public officer either neglects their duties and/or wilfully fails to act appropriately so as to amount to a breach of public trust without sufficient justification in keeping with Attorney General’s Reference No. 3 of 2003 [2004] EWCA 868 because public functions are now frequently carried out by employees in private employment. Moreover, it was also recognised in Bembridge (1783) 3 Doug KB 32 at paragraph 57 that “those who hold public office carry out their duties for the benefit of the public as a whole and, if they abuse their office, there is a breach of the public's trust” and cases involving the conduct of the police that departs from their duties, such as R v. W [2003] EWCA 1632, are particularly illustrative of the problems. But it is also important to appreciate that such cases can also arise in relation to matters pertaining to civil servants in R v. Sunshes Nkesha Pike-Williams [2004] EWCA Crim 2400, whilst also recognising the need to distinguish between public officers and employees in order to be able to recognise the limits of the offence in this area supported by Kent v. Griffiths & others (2001) 1 QB 36, along with the fact that where a further offence is committed, the breach of trust may be recognised as an aggravating factor, in keeping with R v. Dunn [2003] 2 Cr.App.R.(S).

Back to Criminal Defences