Criminal Law, 3rd Edition

Criminal Law is a new student law textbook aimed at students studying on an LLB or GDL course. Written in plain English, it provides students with a detailed understanding of the theoretical and substantive aspects of the law of crime, whilst maintaining a practice-based approach.

The book provides a sound base level of knowledge of the substantive law. It then adds to this knowledge to ensure that students are able to apply the substantive law using a variety of skills in different contexts. Then, the text shows students how to engage with the subject and critically evaluate and consider the implications of the law in any given scenario.

It is essential that students understand the dynamism of criminal law and ask the difficult questions that have been, and remain to be, pondered by academics. As such, the book also considers the social, economic and political context.

The new edition of this text has been fully updated to reflect the current state of the criminal law and includes the very recent case of R v Lawrance [2020] EWCA Crim 971. Since 2018, the law has been faced with a number of new and fascinating developments. To give one example, in April 2020, we learnt that the case of Ivey v Genting Casinos (which was a new and ground breaking development for the 1st edition of this text) has now been approved by the criminal courts with no uncertainty or confusion (R v Barton; R v Booth [2020] EWCA Crim 575).

Since the last edition, society has also been faced with a new threat; and the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the globe. Commentary on how the criminal law has adapted to take account of COVID-19 related offences is a further addition included in this already fully packed textbook. To ensure that the book retains an element of practical and contextual focus, the book has book has been updated to take account of the changes made to the Crown Court Compendium (updated August 2019).