Intoxication

General defences are those which arise from specific characteristics of the defendant or the circumstances of the offence which mean that the prosecution cannot prove all the elements of the offence. The investigating officer is under a duty to investigate crime impartially and fairly and so evidence supporting a defence should be collected and retained in the same way as evidence of the offence. Some offences are subject to specific statutory defences but the general defences should be considered in every case.

Strictly speaking, intoxication, whether voluntary or involuntary is not defence to a crime per se.

Specific intent

Where an offence requires specific criminal intent, voluntary intoxication may be sufficient to show that the accused could not have formed the requisite intent to commit the offence. The specific criminal intent required is that of bringing about a particular consequence at the time of the criminal action. If the accused was so drunk that they could not form a specific intention to bring about a particular consequence, then they would have a defence to that crime which requires