The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word OFFENCES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
O
F
F
E
N
C
E
S
More clues leading to the result OFFENCES
- More than one slight burn in the end, covered with hot drinks when head is lowered
- Crimes attributed to criminal traders
- Crimes associated with those receiving swag?
- Of receivers crimes
- Crimes among criminal traders
- Crimes of receivers of stolen goods
- Wrongdoings of church in parts of Eastern England
- Crimes to do with barriers
Buddy explains!

The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does OFFENCES mean?
OFFENCES noun- The act of offending:
- The state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure.
- A strategy and tactics employed when in position to score; contrasted with defense.
- The portion of a team dedicated to scoring when in position to do so; contrasted with defense.