Summary Criminal Law; offences against the person Review

Offences Against the Person

1. Crimes of Violence
2. Crimes against Autonomy

1. Crimes of violence – proof of physical harm is an essential element
• Crimes of violence form a ladder of seriousness:
• S.18. Wounding/Causing GBH with intent (max life sentence)
• S.20 - malicious wounding/infliction of GBH (max 5 years)
• S 47 OAPA - assault occasioning actual bodily harm (max 5 years)
Offences Against the Person

2. Crimes Against Autonomy
• Physical harm is not an essential element
• The wrongdoing in each case is an interference with a person’s control of
his/her body. Absence of consent therefore is of the essence.
• Assault (saldırı)
• Battery (darp)
• False Imprisonment
• Rape

A. COMMON ASSAULT (S39 CJA 1988)
Takes two forms
• Assault:
‘A person is guilty of assault if he intentionally or recklessly leads
someone to expect the (non consensual) application to his body of
immediate unlawful force.’ (Venna (1976)
• Battery
'any act by which D, intentionally or recklessly, inflicts (non consensual)
unlawful force upon P.' (Venna)

Crimes Against Autonomy
1. Assault
• Actus Reus – acting so as to lead victim to expect immediate unlawful
force
(i) Threat of Force
• Eg pointing a gun (St George)
• Rolling up one’s sleeves (Stephens v Myers)
• Putting one’s hand on ones sword (Tuberville v Savage)
• Making as if to kiss someone (Roberts )
• Staring through a window (Smith v Woking Police)
• Threatening phone call (Ireland (1997)

, (ii) Threat of Immediate Force
-Thomas v NUM
• The Immediacy requirement is interpreted flexibly. It suffices that ‘the
actions of the Defendant provoked a fear of violence at some time not
excluding the immediate future’ Constanza (1997)
- The effect of Ireland
• Words can constitute an assault
• The defendant may be physically removed from the victim
• A silent telephone call may suffice
—> Protection from Harassment Act 1997

(iii) Threat of immediate unlawful force
- No assault if the threat of force is lawful e.g. because
Eg to effect arrest (s. 3(1) CLA 1967) or in self defence (S. 76 Criminal
Justice and Immigration Act 2008) or because of consent
• Mens Rea
• Intention or recklessness
• Spratt [1990]: The defendant fired an airgun with pellets out of his
flat window. He stated that he did not think anyone was in the vicinity
and did not foresee a risk of any harm he only wanted to see how far
the pellets would go. Two pellets struck a young girl playing in the
forecourt. He was charged with ABH and pleaded guilty. He was
sentenced to 30 months and appealed against sentence. When the
appeal came before the court the judge questioned whether the facts
as stated could give grounds for a conviction and referred an appeal
against conviction. The Crown contended that inadvertent (Caldwell)
recklessness would suffice for a charge under s.47. Held: Conviction
was quashed. Recklessness required the defendant to have an
appreciation of the risk.

2. Battery
• 'any act by which D, intentionally or recklessly, inflicts (non consensual)
unlawful force upon P.’ (Venna [1976])
Actus Reus
• An act is necessary
• Fagan (1983): A policeman was directing the defendant to park his
car. The defendant accidentally drove onto the policeman's foot. The
policeman shouted at him to get off. The defendant refused to move.
The defendant argued at the time of the actus reus, the driving onto
the foot, he lacked the mens rea of any offence since it was purely
accidental. When he formed the mens rea, he lacked the actus reus as
he did nothing. Held: The driving on to the foot and remaining there
was part of a continuing act.