Risk must be unreasonable, therefore not a

• surgeon,

• pilot,

• tightrope act,

• reasonable force to make an arrest (e.g. PC forcing suspect’s car off the road),

• reasonable self-defence.

Obvious test is the social value -v- gravity of harm caused e.g. Russian Roulette -v- shooting sheep-worrying dog.

‘Cunningham Recklessness’ requires inadvertent risk taking, mere negligence, or unreasonable failure to consider obvious risk.

Therefore there is an overlap between recklessness and gross negligence.

• Recklessness = conscious taking of an unjustifiable risk

• Negligence = inadvertent taking of an unjustifiable risk

• Consequences desired = Intention.

• Consequence foreseen as virtually certain = intention may be inferred - ‘Cunningham Recklessness’.

• Consequence foreseen as probable = typically recklessness (subjective) - ‘Cunningham Recklessness’.

• Consequence foreseen as possible = typically recklessness (subjective) - ‘Cunningham Recklessness’.

• Consequence not foreseen but ought to have been = objective recklessness - ‘Caldwell/Lawrence Recklessness’.

• Consequences even a reasonable man would not foresee = strict liability.