Chapter 1: Introduction
Date: Fri May 01 14:43:56 BST 1998
1.1 This paper sets out proposals for the reform of the criminal offences used to prosecute violence against individual people. The vocabulary of offences of violence against the person is part of the common currency of everyday life. Court reports and drama have made the very words grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm deeply familiar. However familiarity does not mean that such time-hallowed offences are readily understood or that they provide an effective means for the courts to deal with violent behaviour. Criminal law that applies to violence against the person derives from both common and statute law, but the unrepealed parts of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 provide the bulk of the statutory offences. That Act was itself not a coherent restatement of the law, but a consolidation of much older law. It is therefore not surprising that the law has been widely criticised as archaic and unclear and that it is now in urgent need of reform.
1.2 Reforming the law on violence against the person is not just an academic exercise - criminal cases involving non-fatal offences against the person make up a large part of the work of the courts and cost a great deal of taxpayers money. In 1996 83,000 cases came before the courts. It is therefore particularly important that the law governing such behaviour should be robust, clear and well understood. Unclear or uncertain criminal law risks creating injustice and unfairness to individuals as well as making the work of the police and courts far more difficult and time-consuming. The Government’s aim is that the proposed new offences should enable violence to be dealt with effectively by the courts and that the law should be set out in clear terms and in plain, modern language. That is what the draft Bill contained in this consultation paper does. It is intended to help not only practitioners of the law but anyone who find themselves involved in court cases, whether as a defendant, victim or witness.
1.3 The proposals in this paper are based on the work of the Law Commission as set out in its report No 218: Offences Against the Person and General Principles. That report examined the current state of the law in great detail and proposed a new set of offences ranging from intentional serious injury to assault, as well as rationalising and codifying other offences. The Government is deeply grateful to the Law Commission for the careful and painstaking work that they have done on this subject, and for the principled way they have approached it.
1.4 The purpose of this consultation paper is to set out both the rationale and the detail of the Government’s proposals, how they relate to those of the Law Commission, and to invite comments on them. The Government recognises that reforming the law in this area can raise important questions of policy, principle and practice and wishes to ensure that the implications of its proposals are fully appreciated and that all those affected have an opportunity to contribute their views.
1.5 The Government would welcome views on any aspects of the proposals, whether on matters of general principle and policy or on the details of the proposals. Specific questions are asked at certain points in the text: these are not exclusive but indicate that views are sought on these particular issues. The Government would particularly welcome views on the likely practical consequences of the proposed changes.
1.6 Responses should be sent to:
Mrs Betty Moxon
Sentencing and Offences Unit
Home Office
Room 323
50 Queen Anne’s Gate
London SW1H 9AT
to reach her by Friday 15 May 1998.
Unless confidentiality is requested, it will be assumed that responses can be made available to others.
