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Assault

Assault is when someone intentionally causes or threatens to cause someone else an injury by using violence.

There are a number of different types of assault, some of which are listed below:

	What is it?	What's the punishment?
Common Assault	Using threatening acts, words, gestures or a combination of the three to put someone in fear of immediate violence.	Prison sentence = up to 6 months and/or a fine.
Actual Bodily Harm (ABH)	Actual violence that causes injury, eg cuts, bruises, minor fractures or a broken nose.	Prison sentence = up to 5 years and/or an unlimited fine.
Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH)	Intentionally using violence to cause serious injury. Includes broken bones, kicking someone in the head, using a knife or sharp instrument to stab someone.	Prison sentence = up to 5 years and/or an unlimited fine.
Assault on a Police Officer	Assault (as per the above definition) which includes assisting someone to assault a police officer.	Prison sentence = up to 6 months and/or a fine.
Happy Slapping	An assault is filmed on a mobile phone and then shared on the internet or sent from mobile to mobile.	Happy Slapping is classed as an assault and will be punished accordingly.