Skip to content
Sentencing
  • Offences
  • Sentencing and the Council
    • About the Sentencing Council
      • How the Council works
      • Sentencing Council members
      • Our criteria for developing or revising guidelines
      • Council meetings
      • Corporate reports
      • Strategic objectives 2021-2026
        • Achieving our strategic objectives
      • History
      • Activity to date
      • Criminal justice – where does the Council fit?
      • Office of the Sentencing Council
    • About sentencing guidelines
      • About published guidelines
        • Allocation and offences taken into consideration
        • Animal cruelty
        • Arson and criminal damage
        • Assault
        • Bladed articles and offensive weapons
        • Breach offences
        • Burglary offences
        • Child cruelty
        • Children and young people
        • Dangerous dog offences
        • Domestic abuse
        • Drug offences
        • Environmental offences
        • Firearms offences
        • Fraud, bribery and money laundering offences
        • General guideline and expanded explanations in sentencing guidelines
        • Guilty pleas
        • Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences
        • Imposition of community and custodial sentences
        • Intimidatory offences
        • Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines
        • Manslaughter
        • Miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines
        • Modern slavery
        • Motoring offences
        • Offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders or neurological impairments
        • Perverting the course of justice
        • Public order offences
        • Robbery
        • Sale of knives etc to persons under 18
        • Sexual offences
        • Terrorism offences
        • Theft offences
        • Totality
        • Unauthorised use of a trade mark
        • Witness intimidation
    • How sentencing works
      • Sentencing children and young people
    • Types of sentence
      • Discharges
      • Fines
      • Community sentences
      • Custodial sentences
      • Suspended sentences
      • Determinate prison sentences
      • Extended sentences
      • Life sentences
      • Disposals for offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders or neurological impairments
      • Ancillary orders
      • Other orders made on sentencing
        • Criminal Courts Charge
        • What is the surcharge?
      • Types of sentences for children and young people
    • Who does what in sentencing?
    • Sentencing Code
    • Sentencing myths
    • Consultations
    • SentencingACE
    • Contact us
  • Going to court
    • Which court will a case be heard in?
    • What can happen at trial
    • Sentencing hearings
    • Information for victims and witnesses
    • Information for defendants
  • News and articles
  • Research and resources
    • Sentencing Council research and analysis
      • Statistical summaries
      • Resource assessments
      • Research reports
      • Guideline monitoring and evaluations
    • Data collections
      • Crown Court Sentencing Survey
      • Offence specific data collections
        • Bladed articles and offensive weapons
        • Theft from a shop or stall
        • Drug offences
        • Robbery
    • Criminal justice statistics
    • Code of Practice for Statistics
    • Sentencing seminars
      • Academic seminar 2018
      • Academic seminar 2023
      • Sentencing seminar 2025
    • Public sector equality duty
    • Publications
    • Definitive guidelines archive of print editions
    • You be the Judge
    • Resources for teachers
    • Information for victims’ families
    • Glossary
    • Useful links
Sentencing Guidelines:
  • Magistrates
  • Crown Court

Do not retain this copy. Only the online version of a guideline is guaranteed to be up to date.

  1. Home
  2. News and articles
  3. Revised guidelines for assault offences and attemp...

News type:
News

News topic:
Assault and Attempted murder

Published on:

1 July 2021

Revised guidelines for assault offences and attempted murder come into force

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 come into effect today, 1 July 2021.

There are six new guidelines, all of which apply to adult offenders:

  • 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

© Sentencing Council: 2025

Sign up for email updates

Keep up to date on sentencing guidelines, consultations, our research and news about the Council and our work.

SIGN UP
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • T&Cs and Copyright
  • Cookies
  • FOI
  • About us
  • Contact
  • GOV.UK
© Sentencing Council: 2025