Criminal Law – Non-Fatal

Offences against the Person

Robert Hiscocks
Offences

 Assault  S 23: Administering

 Battery poison so as to
 Offences Against the endanger life
Person Act 1861  S 24: Administering
– S 47: Assault poison with intent
Occasioning Actual
Bodily Harm
– S 20: Wounding/Inflicting
GBH
– S 18 Wounding/causing
GBH with intent
Assault & Battery

Common Law or Statutory Offences?

 Criminal Justice Act 1988 s 39
 DPP v Little
 Common Law?
Assault

 “Common Assault”
 “Technical Assault”
 “Assault properly so called”
 An assault is any act which … causes
another person to apprehend immediate and
unlawful personal violence: Fagan v MPC
per James J
Assault: Actus Reus

(a) “Any Act”: includes words alone?

 R v Mead & Belt
 R v Wilson
 R v Ireland/Burstow
(b) “Causes another person to apprehend …
violence”
 “Apprehend” = “Understand; perceive”:
Compact OED
Assault: Actus Reus

 What if the victim does not apprehend

violence?
 R v Lamb
 What if the Defendant is unable to carry out
the threat?
 Logdon v DPP
 What if the victim is unusually sensitive in
perceiving threats?
Assault: Actus Reus

(c) “Personal Violence”

 Ireland/Burstow
(d) “Immediate … personal violence”
 Tuberville v Savage
 Smith v Chief Supt Woking Police Station
 R v Constanza
 Ireland/Burstow
(e) “Unlawful violence”
Assault: Mens Rea

 An assault is any act which intentionally – or

possibly recklessly – causes another person
to apprehend immediate and unlawful
personal violence: Fagan
 R v Venna
Battery

 “A term used to mean the actual … use of

unlawful force to another person without his
consent”: Fagan.
 Actus Reus: the unlawful application of force
by the defendant upon the victim”
Ireland/Burstow per Lord Steyn
Battery: Force

 Can include any touch: Collins v Wilcock

 Touching clothes: R v Thomas
 No hostility required: Faulkner v Talbot
 Indirect application of force
 Haystead v DPP
 DPP v K
Battery

Actus Reus
 Failure to act
 Fagan
 R v Santana Bermudez
 Act must be unlawful
Mens Rea
 Intent/Recklessness as to applying force:
Venna
Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily
Harm

 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 s 47

 “Whosoever shall be convicted on indictment
of any assault occasioning actual bodily
harm shall be liable… to be imprisoned for
any term not exceeding five years”
S 47: Actus Reus

“Assault”
 Assault or Battery: DPP v Little
“Occasioning”
“Actual Bodily Harm”
 R v Miller
 R v Chan Fook
 Injury “not be so trivial as to be wholly
insignificant”
“Actual Bodily Harm”

 Does this include psychological injury?

 Chan-Fook
 Ireland/Burstow
S 47 Mens Rea

 Intention/recklessness as to the assault or

battery
 No mens rea required re any harm
 R v Savage/Parmenter
OAPA ss 18 & 20

 S 20
 “Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously
wound or inflict any grievous bodily harm
upon any other person, either with or without
any weapon or instrument, shall be guilty of
an offence.”
S 20: Actus Reus

 “Wound”
 “The continuity of the whole skin must be
broken”
 Both layers of skin
 C (a minor) v Eisenhower
S 20: Actus Reus

“Inflict any grievous bodily harm”

 “Really serious harm”: DPP v Smith
 “Serious harm”: R v Saunders
 Psychological injury: Ireland/Burstow
“Inflicts”
 R v Clarence
 R v Wilson, Ireland/Burstow, R v Dica
S 20: Mens Rea

 “Maliciously”
 Intention or recklessness: R v Cunningham
 As to causing some harm (not necessarily
serious): Savage/Parmenter
S 18

Actus Reus
 “Wound” – see above
 “Cause grievous bodily harm” – see above
 “Cause” different to “inflict”?
 Ireland/Burstow
Mens Rea
 Intention to cause GBH
S 20 & s 18 – compare and contrast

Actus Reus Actus Reus

 Wound or inflict GBH  Wound or cause GBH
Mens Rea Mens Rea
 Intention/recklessness  Intention to cause GBH
re causing some harm
How serious is my injury?

 CPS charging standards

 http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section5/chapter
_c.html
 These are guidance, not law