Accomplices to Criminal Charges

When a crime is committed, there culprit is not always acting alone. Sometimes, they have the help of others; the law holds anyone intentionally helping a criminal act responsible for their actions. These people can be charged with many different types of criminal charges that relate to helping another person perform a criminal act such as aiding, abetting, being an accessory or promoting a crime. For example, if one person were to enter a house in order to burglarize it and another was sitting outside in the ‘getaway’ car, the getaway driver would be charged as an accomplice to the crime. The reason being is that he would be an important part of the criminal plan and would be knowingly aiding his accomplice in the commission of the crime.

Accomplices

An accomplice is a person who intentionally helps another person commit a crime. Usually the person who actually commits the crime is referred to as the principal. According to the law, those who are accomplices can be just as guilty as those who commit the crime even if they do not carry out the crime themselves. For example, if burglary and theft were committed, the following actions would make someone an accomplice:

Distracting security personnel or nullifying security measures
Disabling security alarms
Planning the crime, including escape routes and access routes
Aiding the getaway, whether by being present or not
Taking care of a child in order for them to commit the crime

The most important part of being an accomplice is knowing that the ‘principal’ intends to commit a crime. In order to be convicted, the prosecution must prove that the accomplice played an integral role in carrying out the crime and that they had at least a reasonable suspicion that a crime was going to be committed.

Accessories Before the Fact and After the Fact

When an accomplice helps the principal commit the crime can play an important role in determining their criminal responsibility. An accomplice before the fact is someone who helps another commit the crime by preparation, usually by planning or getting the necessary tools or items needed to carry out the crime. An accomplice during the crime will directly aid the culprit in carrying out the crime, such as driving the getaway vehicle or disabling a security system. These types of accomplices are typically punished with the same severity as the culprit.

Where it begins to differ is with accessories after the fact. This occurs when someone helps a criminal after they have already competed a crime. For example, if someone were to commit first degree murder, a friend or a loved one might help to ‘cover up’ the evidence that they committed the crime. While the punishments may still be severe for any serious crimes, accessories after the fact are generally punished less harshly than those who committed the crime.

Conspirators

A conspirator is someone who agrees to help another person in carrying out a criminal act. They differ from accomplices because they may agree to help in a crime, but end up doing nothing at all. There is a little bit of controversy over crimes of conspiracy because it can be argued that the person would have never gone through with the criminal act. As a result, crimes of conspiracy do not receive a punishment based on the crime itself, but for the plan of making a criminal conspiracy. It can be difficult sometimes for the prosecution to prove that an actual conspiracy existed. However, there can be evidence of ‘overt’ acts which indicate that there was a plan to set the criminal act into motion. This can be used to prove the existence of a criminal conspiracy.