CRIMINAL

Being assaulted, sexually abused, threatened or harassed by someone you know or live with is just as serious as being attacked by a stranger, and it is often more dangerous. There are a number of Acts under the criminal system that are there to help you.

OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON ACT 1861 (OAPA 1861).

Common Assault s42 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
Common assault is any act of violence on another person. The offence covers both assault and battery which are two different offences. 

An assault is any act which a person intentionally or recklessly caused another person immediate and unlawful personal violence. The central element of assault is that you sense that you are about to be attacked. Shaking fists, producing knives, pointing guns can all be assaults.

Battery is the intentional infliction of force - where the perpetrator directly comes into physical contact with you.

A person found guilty of any common assault or battery may be imprisoned for 6 months or compelled to pay fines and costs.

Since the introduction of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 common assault is now an arrestable offence. The result is that the police have the power to arrest an individual on suspicion of assault or battery without an arrest warrant.

Actual Bodily Harm s 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
S.47 OAPA lays down penalties for two offences. Firstly, the offence of common assault which is either for common law assault or battery. Secondly it creates a further offence - assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).

Actual bodily harm means any injury which interferes with your health and comfort e.g. minor cuts and bruises and also psychiatric illness such as anxiety disorders or depressive disorders which have been caused by an assault or battery.

A person found guilty of actual bodily harm may be imprisoned for 5 years.

Grievous bodily harm s20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
s. 20 is concerned with unlawfully and maliciously wounding or inflicting any grievous bodily harm upon another person. This section covers incidents where a person has been hit and there is a breaking of the skin but the injuries have to be serious. Unlawful means without lawful excuse i.e. there are three lawful excuses namely self defence, accident or consent. The offences must be committed maliciously, which means either an intent to do some kind of bodily harm to another person or that you were reckless as to whether any such harm might be caused. When it comes to intention it must be proved that the perpetrator foresaw that his actions would cause some harm, not necessarily the serious harm that has been caused.

A person who is found guilty of grievous bodily harm may be imprisoned for 5 years.

Causing grievous bodily harm with intent s 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
S18 is similar to s20 but it needs to be proven that there was an intention to cause the injuries that the victim sustained. To convict someone under this section it must be proven that the perpetrator committed the act with the intention of causing GBH. There must be a specific intention to cause serious injury. It is this element that makes s18 punishable with life imprisonment but the normal sentencing bracket ranges between 3 to 8 years.

Criminal prosecution process.
Domestic violence should be treated by the police as seriously as an assault or threat from a stranger. Each police officer can use their power to intervene, arrest, caution or charge an abuser. If there are reasonable grounds to justify an arrest, the police can do so without asking for the woman’s permission or insisting that she provides a statement straight away. Furthermore they do not need a warrant to arrest someone who they suspect is about to commit an arrestable offence, nor do they need to witness an assault. The abuser can be held for up to 24 hours after being arrested before the police have to charge him. If the police decide to charge him, they will need to consult the Crown Prosecution Serve (CPS) about the charge, and will then pass all the information and the papers to the CPS who will make the final decision on whether to continue with a prosecution. When considering whether to prosecute the CPS will take into account the safety of the victim and anyone else who is involved (including children). They also take the views of the victim into consideration when deciding whether to proceed with a prosecution, even though this is not the sole determining factor.