Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Flashcards
What are the two common law offences against the person?
- Assault
- Battery
In what Act are the main offences of ABH, GBH and GBH with intent contained?
- Offences Against the Person Act 1861
What is the problem with the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
- It is a very old statute which causes problems for the legal system
Describe common assault. What type of offence is it#? Under what Act is it charged? What sentence?
- Common Law offence
- Summary offence
- Charged under s39 Criminal Justice Act 1988
- 6 months imprisonment or fine
What is common assault?
- An act which causes the victim to apprehend the infliction of immediate and unlawful force being used against them
Is an omission sufficient for common assault?
No. It must be an act
In common assault, the act only needs to have caused fear. No force need actually be applied. Name a case that illustrates this.
- Smith v Chief Superintendent of Woking Police Station (1983)
What happened in Smith v Chief Superintendent of Woking Police Station (1983)?
- A woman was being watched by a man in her garden. Her fear was sufficient
What happened in Ireland (1997)?
- Silent telephone calls were considered to be an assault as they put the defendant in immediate contact with the victim
What is the Mens Rea of common assault?
- Intention to cause someone to fear the immediate infliction of unlawful force or recklessness
Describe common battery. What type of offence is it? Under what Act is it charged?
- Common law offence
- Summary offence
- Charged under s39 Criminal Justice Act 1988
What is common battery?
- the application of unlawful force against the victim
The force used in common battery can be a simple touch. Give a case that illustrates this
- Collins v Wilcock (1984)
What happened in Collins v Wilcock (1984)?
- Police officers tried to question prostitutes who didn’t want to talk
- Once of the officers put his hand on the prostitute’s arm. This was considered battery
What was held in Thomas (1985)?
- Touching the bottom of a woman’s skirt was sufficient for battery, as the court said this was the same as touching the person
What happened in Wood v DPP (2008)?
- A police officer took hold of Wood’s arm to check his identity
- HELD - the officer had not arrested Wood, therefore the officer had committed battery
Can battery be committed by an omission? Give a case that illustrates this
- Yes
- DPP v Santana Bermudez (2003)
What happened in DPP v Santana Bermudez (2003)?
- Police officer asked for defendant (who she was searching) if there were any sharp objects in his pockets
- He said no
- She pricked her finger on a needle in his pocket
- Defendant’s omission = actus reus
What is the Mens Rea for common battery? In what case was this decided?
- An intention to apply physical force to someone or recklessness as to whether that force was applied
- R v Cunningham
Under what Act is assault occasioning actual bodily harm charged?
- s47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861