5 replies to this topic

[Norcon Hobby Bobby]

Hello all,

Just wondering if someone can answer me a question in regard to the above offences. As far as I was aware you cannot be charged with these offences in Scotland. I am not a Police Officer but bought a few law books years ago to read while going through the recruitment stages which I sadly did not pass. A friend of mine asked me if it was true that serious assault/assault are the scottish equivalents of ABH/GBH. I thought they were but didnt know about affray. Can anyone thats a serving officer advise me which is correct?

Many Thanks

[CmdKeen]

Assault is a common law crime that covers everything up to attempted murder where a statutory offence hasn't been created, e.g. assault on a member of the emergency services. Assault as an offence can have various descriptors added to it to help distinguish between throwing a punch and missing all the way up to hospitalising someone for months. A serious assault is defined as:

A serious assault is an assault in which the victim sustains an injury resulting in detention in hospital as an in-patient for the treatment of that injury, or any of the following injuries, whether or not detained in hospital; fractures (mean the breaking or cracking of a bone), internal injuries, severe concussion, loss of consciousness, lacerations requiring sutures which may lead to impairment or disfigurement.

So you don't worry on the street what phrase you use when lifting someone - assault is what matters. The extra stuff comes at charge / crime recording time.

Affray, if I understand its meaning correctly, in terms of 2 or more people fighting in a manner in which it isn't one person assaulting another with the other just defending themself - would be treated as a Breach of the Peace due to their riotous behaviour causing alarm to the lieges.

[Norcon Hobby Bobby]

Assault is a common law crime that covers everything up to attempted murder where a statutory offence hasn't been created, e.g. assault on a member of the emergency services. Assault as an offence can have various descriptors added to it to help distinguish between throwing a punch and missing all the way up to hospitalising someone for months. A serious assault is defined as:


So you don't worry on the street what phrase you use when lifting someone - assault is what matters. The extra stuff comes at charge / crime recording time.

Affray, if I understand its meaning correctly, in terms of 2 or more people fighting in a manner in which it isn't one person assaulting another with the other just defending themself - would be treated as a Breach of the Peace due to their riotous behaviour causing alarm to the lieges.

So affray in scotland is a breach of the peace and assault in scotland is what the police would charge you with but when it goes to court the fiscal could decide on gbh/abh is that correct?

[CmdKeen]

There is no such thing as actual or grievous bodily harm in Scotland; they are specific statutory offences in E&W. The difference is that the statute in those cases specifies specific levels of injury, in return for a higher maximum punishment available. Hence all the rigmarole over the charging (or not) of the PC over Ian Tomlinson's death - ABH requires actual bodily harm to be attributed to the assault.

Assault and Breach of the Peace in Scotland have a massive range of sentencing powers in order to fully encompass the range of offences they cover.

A person arrested for assault will be charged with assault and will be prosecuted in court for assault. There may be extra adjectives thrown in for good measure to convey the gravity of the offence (assault to injury, aggravations etc) but there is no difference in the law they have broken.

Hope that makes sense.

Edited by CmdKeen, 22 November 2010 - 06:31 PM.

[Nelson]

You might be interested in this thread as well.

[D-J]

Being a common law crime, BoP or Assault in Scots Law can receive (from the appropriate court) anything up to life imprisonment.