If tried and found guilty in a magistrates court, the maximum penalty is a custodial sentence of six months and/or a fine. Similarly, a commitment to address other underlying issues that may influence the offenders behaviour may justify the imposition of a sentence that focusses on rehabilitation. This offence is . * If order does not contain a punitive requirement, suggested fine levels are indicated below: **Note: Changes to the curfew requirements brought in by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 are set out in the Requirements section in the Overarching Guideline: Imposition of community and custodial sentences, but are not reflected in the ranges above. Whenever the court reaches the provisional view that: the court should obtain a pre-sentence report, whether verbal or written, unless the court considers a report to be unnecessary. When an immediate custodial sentence is necessary, the court must consider whether proper arrangements have been made for the care of any dependent children and if necessary consider adjourning sentence for this to be done. In order to be charged for GBH without intent, it must be considered that the act was reckless and committed without intention. For the purposes of GBH, wounding is defined as a break in the skin. If there are significant extenuating circumstances, you might escape jail time. Section 20 carries the lowest maximum sentence of the two Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) charges with the maximum penalty being 5 years imprisonment. Offences committed in custody are more serious because they undermine the fundamental need for control and order which is necessary for the running of prisons and maintaining safety. Having determined the category of the basic offence to identify the sentence of a non-aggravated offence, the court should now consider the level of racial or religious aggravation involved and apply an appropriate uplift to the sentence in accordance with the guidance below. Where an offender has turned 18 between the commission of the offence and conviction the court should take as its starting point the sentence likely to have been imposed on the date at which the offence was committed, but applying the purposes of sentencing adult offenders. In particular young adults (typically aged 18-25) are still developing neurologically and consequently may be less able to: Young adults are likely to be susceptible to peer pressure and are more likely to take risks or behave impulsively when in company with their peers. Many young people who offend either stop committing crime, or begin a process of stopping, in their late teens and early twenties. the custody threshold has been passed; and, if so. Racial or religious aggravation was the predominant motivation for the offence. The information and commentary does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice and the writers / participants do not intend that it should be relied upon. My son has been charged with gbh section 20, there are mitigating circumstances, as in his friend had just just got knocked unconcious in the road and he was trying to make sure he was not moved. In order for an abuse of trust to make an offence more serious the relationship between the offender and victim(s) must be one that would give rise to the offender having a significant level of responsibility towards the victim(s) on which the victim(s) would be entitled to rely. Care should be taken to avoid double counting where the statutory aggravating factor relating to emergency workers or to those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing services to the public applies. That said, the charge of wounding with intent should generally only be used in cases where the wounding was serious. What is the punishment for GBH in UK? - KnowledgeBurrow.com The main difference between a Section 18 and a Section 20 assault is the issue of intent. The extent to which the offender has complied with the conditions of a licence or order (including the time that has elapsed since its commencement) will be a relevant consideration. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. (4) For the purposes of this section, an offence is aggravated by hostility of one of the kinds mentioned in subsection (1) if, (a) at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the offender demonstrated towards the victim of the offence hostility based on. Where offending is driven by or closely associated with drug or alcohol abuse (for example stealing to feed a habit, or committing acts of disorder or violence whilst drunk) a commitment to address the underlying issue may justify a reduction in sentence. In accordance with section 120 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Sentencing Council issues this definitive guideline. All of the above injuries can be inflicted intentionally or recklessly and it is this factor that will ultimately determine the charge and punishment given for the offence. Section 20 Assault Section 20 carries the lowest . For offences under section 20 the maximum sentence is 5 years, so a non-custodial sentence is more likely. The following is a list of factors which the court should consider to determine the level of aggravation. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Highly dangerous weapon equivalents can include corrosive substances (such as acid), whose dangerous nature must be substantially above and beyond the legislative definition of an offensive weapon which is; any article made or adapted for use for causing injury, or is intended by the person having it with him for such use. (2) The court, (a) must treat the fact that the offence is aggravated by hostility of any of those types as an aggravating factor, and. (g) unlawfully causes any explosive substance to explode; or (h) sends or delivers any explosive substance or other dangerous or noxious thing to any person; or (i) causes any such substance or thing to be taken or received by any person; or (j) puts any corrosive fluid or any destructive or explosive substance in any place; or Where an offender is being sentenced for a non-imprisonable offence, there is no power to make a community order. Things our solicitors look out for in Section 20 GBH Cases Identifying weaknesses within the prosecution case; This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The ultimate severity of an injury does not determine the classification of the offence or indeed the resulting sentence, although it can go some way towards determining intent. It may be helpful to indicate to the Probation Service the courts preliminary opinion as to which of the three sentencing ranges is relevant and the purpose(s) of sentencing that the package of requirements is expected to fulfil. GBH can be committed in two ways, which affect the level of severity of offence. Where there has been a significant gap between previous and current convictions or a reduction in the frequency of offending this may indicate that the offender has made attempts to desist from offending in which case the aggravating effect of the previous offending will diminish. This could lead to them being convicted of a lesser offence, or even being acquitted altogether. Examples may include, but are not limited to, posts of images on social media designed to cause additional distress to the victim. (3) Where the court treats a relevant previous conviction as an aggravating factor under subsection (2) it must state in open court that the offence is so aggravated. The same incident could have a much more serious impact on an elderly or vulnerable person, and this is relevant for the jury to take into account when reaching their verdict. Next, the court will consider the harm that has been caused. User guide for this offence There is no general definition of where the custody threshold lies. Section 66 of the Sentencing Code states: Hostility (1) This section applies where a court is considering the seriousness of an offence which is aggravated by, (d) hostility related to sexual orientation, or. If a PSR has been prepared it may provide valuable assistance in this regard. Suspended sentence for Grievous Bodily Harm at Chesterfield Chesterfield crime solicitor David Gittins Chesterfield Crime Solicitor David Gittins recently represented a young man before Chesterfield Magistrates Court. The more sophisticated, extensive or persistent the actions after the event, the more likely it is to increase the seriousness of the offence. For more serious offences where a substantial period of custody is appropriate, this factor will carry less weight. In all cases, the court should consider whether to make compensation and/or other ancillary orders. (ii) services in the support of the provision of NHS health services, and whose general activities in doing so involve face to face interaction with individuals receiving the services or with other members of the public. Section 20 Assault Solicitors - Top Rated Criminal Defence Lawyers Where there are previous offences but these are old and /or are for offending of a different nature, the sentence will normally be reduced to reflect that the new offence is not part of a pattern of offending and there is therefore a lower likelihood of reoffending.