The Sentencing Council has published revised sentencing guidelines for assault offences, including common assault and attempted murder, and new guidance for assault on emergency workers to reflect changes in legislation. The guidelines will come into effect on 1 July 2021.

The new guidelines, which apply to adult offenders, will bring a consistent approach to sentencing assault offences and help sentencers make a balanced assessment of the seriousness of those offences and impose appropriate and proportionate sentences.

The guidelines have been revised following evaluation of the existing assault guidelines, which were the first ever issued by the Sentencing Council, and to reflect the stepped approach introduced in more recent Council guidelines.

Details of the revisions made to the guidelines and the Council’s reasons for making them, are set out in the consultation response document also being published today.

The six guidelines published today by the Council are:

• Common assault – section 39 Criminal Justice Act 1988; Racially/religiously aggravated Common assault – section 29 Crime and Disorder Act 1998; Assault on Emergency Worker – section 1 Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018
• Assault with intent to resist arrest – section 38 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
• Assault occasioning actual bodily harm – section 47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861; Racially/religiously aggravated ABH – section 29 Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• Inflicting grievous bodily harm/Unlawful wounding – section 20 Offences Against the Person Act 1861; Racially/religiously aggravated GBH/Unlawful wounding – section 29 Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• Causing grievous bodily harm with intent to do grievous bodily harm/Wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm – section 18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
• Attempted murder – s1(1) Criminal Attempts Act 1981