{"id":826,"date":"2015-05-20T15:32:07","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T15:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oakwoodtrainin.wpengine.com\/?p=826"},"modified":"2022-10-03T11:44:45","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T11:44:45","slug":"assault-or-lawful-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oakwoodtraining.co.uk\/assault-or-lawful-force\/","title":{"rendered":"Assault or Lawful Force?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Assault or Lawful Force?<\/h2>\n

\u201cTouch me and I\u2019ll have your job!\u201d and<\/span> \u201cGet your hands off me, that\u2019s assault! I know my rights!\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Oh really\u2026<\/p>\n

These little statements or variations of them are trotted out almost routinely and unfortunately seem to have a lot of people running scared. Primarily because a little part of us thinks, what if they\u2019re right? Could I loose my job…or worse? After all, there\u2019s no smoke without fire.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On a recent course for example, a hostel worker working with violent offenders told me that under no circumstances were they allowed to touch the residents, even if being physically attacked by them. His manager said it breached policy and it is against the law to \u201cassault\u201d vulnerable service users.<\/p>\n

I have also heard on numerous occasions that using force on a child is assault because the laws of self defence and reasonable force do not apply on school grounds or education establishments, social care settings or children homes.<\/p>\n

This is a shocking but all too prevalent position- and it\u2019s NONSENSE. What kind of legal system would expect you to stand there and be a victim of a violent assault because the attacker is vulnerable or at school?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Using \u201cReasonable Force<\/a>\u201d in the following circumstances is lawful, therefore not assault:<\/strong>
\n\u2022 self-defence or defence of another
\n\u2022 defending property
\n\u2022 preventing Crime
\n\u2022 making or assisting in a lawful arrest (there\u2019s more to this one!)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty clear: if you are using force for a legal purpose and it is \u201creasonable\u201d<\/a> then it is not assault.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what is \u201cAssault\u201d?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Believe it or not there is no legal definition. In our \u201cGet your Hands off me<\/em>\u201d type scenarios, we are talking about a low level physical confrontation with minor injury if any, so \u201cCommon Assault\u201d.<\/p>\n

Common Assault is when a person either assaults<\/strong> another person or commits a battery. So, there are two aspects to consider:
\n1. \u201cAssault<\/strong>:Intentionally or recklessly causing another to \u201capprehend the immediate infliction of unlawful force\u201d.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cBattery\u201d:<\/strong> The physical Act that most people would understand to be an assault, eg hitting someone or grabbing hold of them, or coming into physical contact either intentionally or recklessly.
\nIf you threaten or attack someone on purpose knowing it was wrong, that\u2019s \u201cIntentional\u201d.
\nIf you didn\u2019t mean to but knew your actions or behaviour may have caused injury or make someone think they would be assaulted, that\u2019s \u201cReckless\u201d.<\/p>\n

As you can see, in order for it to be Common Assault, the action must be UNLAWFUL<\/strong>. So if you are acting for a lawful purpose using reasonable force, it is not assault.<\/p>\n

Threats can also be an assault<\/h5>\n

For example aiming an imitation gun at someone shouting that you\u2019re going to kill them IS <\/strong>an assault even though it\u2019s an imitation gun and not capable of causing any injury whatsoever. The intended victim doesn\u2019t know that and would be forgiven for thinking they are about to be shot (therefore apprehend immediate unlawful violence).<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the teacher wasn\u2019t here I would batter you<\/span><\/em>\u201d. Not very nice but it\u2019s a hypothetical threat, therefore not technically an assault because there is a condition (the teacher not being there). Because the teacher is present, there is no apprehension of immediate and unlawful violence.
\n\u201cGive me that or I\u2019ll break your nose<\/span><\/em>\u201d however, definitely an assault (and probably robbery). It\u2019s not hypothetical, its \u201cdo this or else\u201d and it\u2019s not very neighbourly now is it.<\/p>\n

Is it lawful to use force against an attacker who is under age or vulnerable\/lacks capacity?<\/h5>\n

Simple answer: Yes.<\/p>\n

Technically, if the \u201caggressor\u201d lacks capacity or is under the age of criminal responsibility (10 years) they can\u2019t be guilty of a crime. Although that may rule out using force to prevent a crime under Section 3 Criminal Law Act 1967, the Common Law right to Self Defence still applies (clarified by Section 76 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008).<\/p>\n

A real world example of this made the headlines in 1999, when former Beatles guitarist George Harrison was attacked in his home. The intruder, a man called Abram was armed with a knife and believed God had sent him to kill Harrison, as he was a sorcerer and a devil. Read more about this:
\nhttp:\/\/ultimateclassicrock.com\/george-harrison-attacked\/?trackback=tsmclip).<\/a><\/p>\n

Will I be investigated?<\/h4>\n

The reality is the nothing you read on the internet or learn on a course will prevent an investigation.
\nAn investigation may mean suspension from work or being moved to a different role in line with internal policies. Investigations by the police into accusations of wrong doing are usually conducted by way of an interview under caution, whether voluntarily or at a police station following arrest if deemed necessary.<\/p>\n

In closing, the fear of being prosecuted, sued or loosing a job has people very worried. So much so that some have openly told me that they will wait to be assaulted before taking action, so they can show the courts\/investigators why they have used physical force.<\/p>\n

Personally, I would rather argue my case in the box, than be buried in one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assault or Lawful Force? \u201cTouch me and I\u2019ll have your job!\u201d and \u201cGet your hands off me, that\u2019s assault! I know my rights!\u201d Oh really\u2026 These little statements or variations of them are trotted out almost routinely and unfortunately seem to have a lot of people running scared. Primarily because a little part of us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[26,29,32,33,34,35],"post_folder":[],"yoast_head":"\nAssault or Lawful Force? - Oakwood Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oakwoodtraining.co.uk\/assault-or-lawful-force\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Assault or Lawful Force? - Oakwood Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Assault or Lawful Force? \u201cTouch me and I\u2019ll have your job!\u201d and \u201cGet your hands off me, that\u2019s assault! I know my rights!\u201d Oh really\u2026 These little statements or variations of them are trotted out almost routinely and unfortunately seem to have a lot of people running scared. 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