Non-fatal offences/Assult

• S39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 covers assult and battery.
• Offences against the person's Act 1988 (OAPA) covers: S47 assult occasioning ABH, S20 wounding & inflicting GBH, S18 wounding with intent to do GBH
• Assult- to cause V to apprehend force
• Battery- to apply force to V
• Assult(Psychic Assult)- Actus Reus- to cause the victim to apprehend immediate force Mens Rea- recklessness (or intention) as to causing V to fear immediate unlawful violence.
• If D's acts are unobserved by V, because its dark or D approaches from behind or V is blind or asleep, there will be no assult.
• Apprehend- to be aware of it. V has to be aware that something violent is about to happen. Similarly, there would not be assult if it was obvious that D had no means of carrying out their threat Logdon
• Immediate- a threat to use force in the future cannot be an assult Smith, Ireland
• Force- a touch will suffice Swain
• Assult by words alone- used to be thats something more than words was required
• Words may negate an assault-Tuberville and Savage
• Negate-to make ineffective or invalid; to deny the truth or existence of something.
• Battery- actus reus: application of unlawful force Mens Rea- recklessness or intention to apply force.
• Most batteries are directly applied to V's person e.g. striking a perosn with a fist or object, but this is not essential. Martin
• Assault and battery are summary offences and can only be tried in the mags court with a max sentence of 12 months.
• OAPA 1861- Actual bodily harm- for ABH there has to be a starter offence
• ABH- actus reus- an assault or battery which is any hurt or injury that interferes with the health or comfort of the victim. Mens rea- recklessness of application of unlawful force or apprehension of force.
• S47 includes- minor bruises, broken nose and abrasions, cutting hair and psychiatric injury. The bigger the body part the more likely it is to be a higher grade of assault- smith(hair)
• AO3 of S47- (weak): there is no provision for a wound. So a small wound could be charged for S20. (weak): S47 carries a max sentence for 5 years . This is the same as S20