Joint enterprise ruling has not led to fewer homicide charges, report finds

Exclusive: Research suggests prosecutions and convictions of secondary suspects have actually risen since 2016 judgment

A landmark judgment that was expected to lead to a reduction in joint enterprise prosecutions and convictions for homicide has had no discernible effect, while the number of Black people convicted of murder under the controversial doctrine has actually risen, research suggests.

A 2016 ruling by the supreme court in relation to joint enterprise - where two or more defendants are accused of the same crime in relation to the same incident - found the law had been wrongly applied for over 30 years and the bar had been set too low with respect to the required intent of any secondary, co-accused.