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Section 39: Common assault and battery to be summary offences

Criminal Justice Act 1988 (1988 c. 33)

(1) Common assault and battery shall be summary offences and a person guilty of either of them shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.

(2) Subsection (1) is subject to section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 (which makes provision for increased sentencing powers for offences of common assault and battery committed against an emergency worker acting in the exercise of functions as such a worker).

Reproduced from legislation.gov.uk as captured on 2026-08-27. Statute is amended over time — check the source below for the version in force. This is a reference, not legal advice.
View s.39 on legislation.gov.uk

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Source: legislation.gov.uk, Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.