⇒ Sometimes the mens rea of a crime is negligence. However, it should be noted that negligence plays a minor role in criminal liability: it used to form the basis of some driving offences but this has largely been superseded by recklessness.

⇒ Negligence uses an objective test: 'did the defendant behave in a way which was reasonable in the circumstances?' If the defendant behaves in the way in which a reasonable person would not then he/she is negligent.

• The objective test is strictly applied (McCrone v. Riding [1938] 1 All ER 137).

⇒ The main role for negligence in criminal law is with regards to gross negligence manslaughter.

⇒ Gross negligence essentially means really bad negligence. It must be shown that the defendant killed negligently and that this negligence was so bad as to justify a criminal conviction. See, for example, the case of R v Adomako [1994] 3 WLR 288.

⇒ You can also see the topic notes on Gross Negligence Manslaughter here.