What is Joint Enterprise?

If somebody has been fatally stabbed you can be found guilty of that person’s murder even if you were not the person who actually stabbed them.

It’s under a law called ‘joint enterprise’.

It means you’re seen as guilty for someone else’s death, because you were part of the situation that could have encouraged the incident, or were part of it without trying to stop it from happening.

Examples of how you could be charged for murder under ‘joint enterprise’ are if:

• You were part of a group and someone in that group kills someone with a knife. This is the same for any other weapon or physical attack.
• You were supporting the attacker’s actions in some way. This could be verbally by encouraging them or physically if you acted as a supportive presence.
• You knew that the person who made the attack was going to start violence against the victim, and you did nothing to stop it.