5.1 Inchoate Offenses

Why Inchoate Offenses Matter on MPOLE and the Street

Quick Answer: Under Missouri law (RSMo Chapter 562), a person can be guilty of attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation without completing the target crime. Officers document purpose, the substantial step or agreement/overt act, and any failure of the completed offense so prosecutors can charge the incomplete crime when elements of the finished crime fall short.

Not every crime ends with a broken window, a stolen car, or a completed assault. Missouri’s criminal code recognizes inchoate (incomplete) offenses so society can intervene before harm fully occurs and so incomplete schemes still carry liability. For MPOLE and academy legal studies, treat Chapter 562 concepts as core charging tools, not academic footnotes.

Street reality for Missouri peace officers:

1. You interrupt the crime mid-act — A burglary suspect is halfway through a rear door when neighbors call 911. Completed second-degree burglary may be arguable; attempt is often the cleaner fit.
2. The plan never works — The gun jams, the safe is empty, the victim fights free, or the “stolen” car is already repossessed. The completed offense may fail; attempt or conspiracy may still stand.
3. Words recruit violence — Someone pays or pressures another person to shoot a rival. Even if the shooting never happens, solicitation (and sometimes conspiracy) may apply.

On exam questions, match purpose + required outward conduct (substantial step, agreement, or solicitation speech/conduct) rather than waiting for a perfect completed crime.

Attempt Under Missouri Law (RSMo 562 Concepts)

Core idea

Criminal attempt focuses on a person who, with the purpose of committing an offense, does an act that is a substantial step toward commission of that offense. A substantial step is conduct that is strongly corroborative of the firmness of the actor’s criminal purpose—not mere preparation in the abstract, and not daydreaming or idle talk.

Purpose vs. reckless or negligent “almost crimes”

Attempt is generally a purpose (intent) crime directed at a specific target offense. Careless driving that almost causes a crash is not “attempted manslaughter” without purpose to kill. MPOLE-style items often test this: bad outcome alone does not equal attempt.

Substantial step — what officers should look for

Courts and charging guidelines look for outward acts that make the criminal purpose concrete. Training examples commonly include:

Mere preparation (buying a ski mask weeks earlier with no act toward a specific crime) is weaker. Substantial step is stronger when the actor is at or near the scene, using tools for the crime, or has begun the forbidden act itself.

Why charge attempt when the completed crime “fails”

Officers and prosecutors charge attempt when:

• Elements of the completed offense cannot be proved (nothing was actually taken; the victim was not injured as required by a specific assault degree).
• Intervention stopped the crime (security, police, or a citizen interrupted the act).
• Factual failure (wrong house, empty register, weapon malfunction) would make the completed crime factually incomplete.
• Victim escapes before injury or property loss required by the completed statute.

Attempt protects public safety by not rewarding luck or poor execution. For report writing: state the target offense, the purpose evidence (statements, tools, prior threats), and the step that strongly corroborates purpose.

Conspiracy Under Missouri Law (Awareness Level)

Agreement is the core

Conspiracy is essentially an agreement between two or more persons to commit a criminal offense (or to promote/facilitate it), with the required mental state. The danger society targets is group criminal planning—shared purpose multiplies capability and commitment.

Overt act awareness

Depending on the offense structure and charging practice, liability often turns not only on words of agreement but on whether the parties (or one of them) took some overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. For line officers, the operational rule is simple:

• Document who agreed to what (texts, recordings, undercover buys, co-conspirator statements where lawfully obtained).
• Document any act that advanced the plan (renting a car, buying ammo, casing the store, driving the getaway route).
• Do not assume conspiracy only exists when the target crime is finished.

Conspiracy can reach people who never touch the gun if they knowingly join the plan and the plan moves forward. That is why multi-defendant robberies and drug distribution cases frequently include conspiracy theories in the charging conversation—even when street reports lead with robbery or distribution counts.

Distinguishing attempt from conspiracy

A person can be guilty of both conspiracy and attempt in appropriate fact patterns; charging decisions belong to the prosecutor, but officers supply the facts that support each theory.

Solicitation Under Missouri Law

Solicitation targets the person who commands, encourages, requests, or otherwise tries to induce another to engage in conduct that would constitute a crime (or an attempt), with the purpose of promoting or facilitating that offense.

Key operational points:

1. The other person need not agree. If A offers B $500 to burn a warehouse and B refuses, A may still have solicited.
2. The target crime need not occur. Solicitation is complete when the prohibited request/encouragement is made with the required purpose.
3. Communication proof is critical. Texts, DMs, undercover recordings, and witness accounts of the ask are often the case.

Solicitation of violence (hire-for-harm, “I need you to take care of him”) is a high-priority public-safety scenario. Even when the hit never happens, the solicitation evidence can support charges and protective steps for the intended victim.

Merger and Impossibility (LE Awareness Level)

Merger concepts

Merger is the idea that some incomplete offenses may not stack forever with the completed crime in the same way for the same defendant and same conduct. At officer awareness level:

• If the completed crime is clearly proved, prosecutors often charge the completed offense as the primary count.
• If completion is uncertain, attempt remains a vital alternative theory.
• Do not invent double charges in your report narrative; document facts and let charging counsel apply merger rules.

Impossibility concepts

Two classroom labels appear in training materials:

Practical rule for officers: If the person meant to commit a real crime and took a substantial step, document it as attempt even if luck, empty targets, or mechanical failure blocked completion. Do not drop the case solely because “nothing was stolen.”

True legal analysis of impossibility is for courts; your job is accurate facts: purpose evidence, steps taken, and why completion failed.

Street Scenarios Missouri Officers See

Scenario A — Burglary interrupted

Officers respond to a silent alarm. They find a suspect with a crowbar, pry marks on a closed business door, and one foot over the threshold. The suspect flees into a fence and is caught. No property is taken.

• Completed burglary may be litigated on entry and purpose issues.
• Attempted burglary is strongly supported by tools, location, damage, and partial entry.
• Document: time, lighting, pry marks, tool location, body-worn camera, suspect statements (“I was just walking”), and any gloves/mask.

Scenario B — Solicitation of violence

A complainant shows texts offering a known associate $1,000 to “handle” an ex-partner. The associate never shows up. The intended victim is unharmed.

• Treat as a serious threat/solicitation investigation, not “just talk.”
• Preserve phones/messages lawfully; identify both parties; assess protective needs.
• Coordinate with detectives/prosecutors on solicitation and related threat statutes.

Scenario C — Conspiracy with overt acts

Two suspects are stopped after purchasing matching dark clothing, zip ties, and a cheap prepaid phone, then driving repeated slow loops past a jewelry store while texting “tomorrow 9 open we go.” No robbery occurs that night.

• Agreement + preparatory overt acts may support conspiracy investigation.
• If they later begin the robbery and are interrupted, attempt may also fit.
• Report roles, purchases, surveillance loops, and message content carefully.

Charging Awareness and Report Quality

Missouri officers do not “file” charges the way prosecutors do, but poor reports kill inchoate cases. Strong reports include:

1. Target offense named (what they were trying to do).
2. Purpose evidence (statements, prior threats, disguise, tools specialized to the crime).
3. Chronology of steps (planning → approach → execution acts → interruption).
4. Why completion failed (arrest, flight, empty till, victim resistance).
5. Co-actors and communications for conspiracy/solicitation theories.

Exam and Field Takeaways

Inchoate offenses exist so incomplete crimes still matter. For MPOLE:

• Attempt = purpose + substantial step.
• Conspiracy = criminal agreement (document overt acts that show the plan was real).
• Solicitation = inducing another with criminal purpose; completion of the target crime is not required.
• Charge/document attempt when the completed crime fails or is interrupted.
• Leave fine merger/impossibility doctrine to counsel; preserve facts that keep all theories alive.