Non-fatal offences against the person are offences which invoke violence against a particular person. These different offences are contained in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. The most common non-fatal offences covers under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 are assault, battery, Actual Bodily Harm and Grievous Bodily Harm. An assault occurs where the victim is made to fear/apprehend that an imminent application of unlawful physical force will be made on him/her. The actus reus of a battery consists of the infliction of unlawful personal violence by the accused upon the victim. The slightest touching, if unlawful, is sufficient. Also, a battery may be caused by the indirect use of force which was found in the case of Haystead v Chief Constable of Derbyshire [2000] Crim LR 758. In this case, the defendant punched the victim which caused the victim to drop the baby she was…(short extract)
