Grievous Bodily Harm / Unlawful Wounding (Section 20 Offences Against the Person Act 1861)

Grievous Bodily Harm / Unlawful Wounding is an offence under s.20 Offences against the Person Act 1861. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any grievous bodily harm upon any other person, either with or without any weapon or instrument, is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to be kept in penal servitude (s.20, as it extends to England and Wales). The section states no term. Where an enactment gives a court power to award penal servitude, the sentence may not exceed five years unless the enactment authorises a greater period (Penal Servitude Act 1891, s.1(1)), and every such power is now construed as power to pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding that maximum (Criminal Justice Act 1948, s.1(1)). Maximum sentence: on conviction on indictment, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years; on summary conviction, imprisonment up to the general limit in a magistrates' court, which is 12 months for an offence triable either way (Sentencing Act 2020, s.224(1A)(b)). The offence is triable either way (Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, Schedule 1, para 5(b)).

In practice

This is an either-way offence: it may be tried at the magistrates' court or the Crown Court. Mode of trial depends on the seriousness and the defendant's election. Officers should photograph injuries at the earliest opportunity and again after 24-48 hours (bruising develops). Domestic abuse cases require completion of a DASH risk assessment. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).