ABSTRACT
This concept needs particular care, as its legal definition is not the same as its everyday meaning of taking unjustified risks. It is important to note that in criminal law a distinction is drawn between (a) a subjective test involving what the defendant thought at the time of the alleged offence, or perhaps more correctly, the view of the magistrates or jury as to what they believe he was thinking; and (b) an objective test involving what the reasonable man in the defendant’s position would have thought (or the magistrates’ or jury’s view of what the reasonable man in the defendant’s shoes would have thought). The first is harder to prove, and we shall see later that the second test is more often used in offences involving property.
