THE CRIME OF ASSAULT NEEDS TO BE RE-THOUGHT

ASSAULT:- hit, strike, smack, slap

ASSAULT:- a sudden, violent attack; onslaught: an assault on tradition. Law. an unlawful physical attack upon another; an attempt or offer to do violence to another with or without battery as by holding a stone or club in a threatening manner.

A person is guilty of common ASSAULT if they either inflict violence on another person – however slight this might be – or make that person think they are about to be attacked.  If violence is used in a common assault, it is called a “battery” and the perpetrator would be charged with “assault by beating”

ASSAULT on a police constable in execution of his duty: Police Act 1996, s.89 

For as long as I`ve been involved in legal matters I`ve lost count of the number of occasions when representatives of the police have complained that magistrates courts when dealing with offenders convicted of assaulting one of their profession are too lenient in their disposal.  In truth I have some sympathy with that opinion but only at the lowest level of my sympathy meter. 

Some numbers might be useful: Latest statistics for ten months to September last year show that prosecutions for assaults on police and emergency workers totalled  almost twelve thousand of which 9,629 were found guilty. 1,518 were sentenced to immediate custody and 2,137 were fined. In the year ended March 2019 there were 10,399 offences of “assault with injury on a constable” recorded by the police and 20,578 recorded "without injury".  It seems to me that the term "assault" is in itself toO widely drawn.  

Grievous bodily harm with intent is the most serious form of assault charges in the UK and involves a perpetrator who intended to cause serious bodily harm to the victim. This offence may be committed four different ways:  wounding with intent to do GBH;  causing GBH with intent to do so; maliciously wounding with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension etc. of any person; or maliciously causing GBH with intent to resist or prevent lawful apprehension etc. of any person.

Owing to the above definitions there is no way of knowing how many assaults on police are those causing any serious degree of harm beyond perhaps a push in the back or very slight bruising from an attempted kick or a helmet being knocked from the head. A new crime classification for “assault with injury on a constable” was introduced on 1st April 2017. As far as I can determine the definition of what assault constitutes an injury to police is unavailable. 

From my own and others` experiences there are and have been occasions when there has been some surprise on the bench when the charge of assault on a police constable has seemed to be undercharging considering the very serious effects on the victim.  But that also happens when the victim is a civilian and is a result of the CPS being satisfied with a highly likely guilty outcome of the lesser charge vis a vis the less assured outcome were a higher level charge taken to crown court. 

I feel sure that at some time the government will have to re-think the law on this most common of criminal behaviours where the outcome for victims; police and civilian,  psychologically if not physically can be a lifetime of trauma and/or paranoia. .