Withholding information as to a serious crime was once part of our common law: should it be again? Charles Davey sets out the case
- After Woodcock confirmed there is no general duty to warn potential victims, the article asks whether the criminal law should impose a positive duty to report serious crimes.
- It argues that, given the former common law offence of misprision and modern examples in other jurisdictions, a duty to report serious crime should be reintroduced.
The first article in this series considered the decision in Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police v Woodcock [2025] EWCA Civ 13 that the police are under no duty of care to warn domestic abuse victims of an imminent attack (‘Call of duty?’, 175 NLJ 8125, pp13-14). A simple telephone call would have saved Ms Woodcock from a ferocious and nearly fatal knife attack. The Supreme Court has refused permission to appeal.
As matters currently stand, there is no tortious duty on individuals or public authorities to warn of another’s likely criminal actions, save in very limited circumstances: where
