Q479: What is battery?

Yes, it is an assault. An assault is any act that intentionally or recklessly causes the victim to apprehend immediate and unlawful personal injury or violence. If violence is threatened, there must be the ability to carry out the threat at the time.

In law, an assault does not have to involve physical contact, an assault may involve a threat alone. However, there must be the prospect of the threat being carried out immediately and for the victim to fear that the threat will be carried out immediately. If physical contact is made, the offence is actually a 'battery'.

Most people who describe an assault, are actually describing a battery - see Q479 for more information on this.

If you have been assaulted and want to report it to the police, even if you do not have any visible injuries, you should contact your local police force and report the incident.

If your partner or ex-partner has assaulted you, and you are 16 and over, this will be treated as a report of domestic violence; the police have a responsibility to take positive action to reports of domestic violence.

For more information and support, please see questions Q108, Q109 and Related Information. 

The police do not take pictures of injuries from assaults on every occasion. The decision as to whether photographs are taken will be dependent upon whether it is necessary as part of an investigation into an offence.

Generally, if you have attended a hospital or doctor's surgery, the medical notes will suffice as evidence if the case goes to court.

In most cases, spitting at a person deliberately will constitute an offence of assault. However, if it is accidental it will not usually be deemed to be an offence. An exception to this may be where someone intended to spit at a person, but missed and spat at another person nearby. Despite not being intentional, this may be considered to be a reckless act and the offence may still be committed.

Whilst there is no legal requirement to report a crime, there is a moral duty on everyone of us to report to the police any crime or anything we suspect may be a crime.