Attempt in
criminal law is an offence that occurs when a person comes dangerously close to carrying out a criminal act, and intends to commit the act, but does not in fact commit it. The person may have carried out all the necessary steps (or thought they had) but still failed, or the attempt may have been abandoned or prevented at a late stage. The attempt must have gone beyond mere planning or preparation, and is distinct from other
inchoate offenses such as
conspiracy to commit a crime or
solicitation of a crime. There are many specific crimes of attempt, such as
attempted murder, which may vary by
jurisdiction. Punishment is often less severe than would be the case if the attempted crime had been carried out. Abandonment of the attempt may constitute a not guilty defence, depending partly on the extent to which the attempt was abandoned freely and voluntarily. Early
common law did not punish attempts; the law of attempt was not recognised by common law until the case of b. Rex v. Scofield in 1784.