More than 1,800 people have been charged with homicide under the controversial, legal principle of joint enterprise in the past eight years, according to figures obtained from freedom of information requests.
The first, detailed assessment of how frequently prosecutors rely on the 300 year old, common law offence has been obtained through research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
There is widespread concern over the complex doctrine, which enables defendants to be found guilty of a killing even if they did not deliver the fatal blow. Those not even present at the scene of a crime, or merely on the periphery, can be found guilty of murder.