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Produced by the Sentencing Academy

Snapshot 2

Assault: Actual Bodily Harm

Bringing together relevant information, research findings and statistics relating to sentencing.

by Annalena Wolcke

Last updated: Aug 2026

Overview

  • Sentencing Council guideline range: fine to a 4-year prison sentence
  • Maximum sentence: 5-years’ imprisonment (7 years if it is racially or religiously aggravated)
  • Convictions fell between 2015-2020, but have increased since
  • Convictions in 2025: 8,677
  • This snapshot summarises key trends over the past 5 years

Sentences Imposed

Figure 1: Sentences for Actual Bodily Harm, 2021-2025

  • Almost 40% of convictions resulted in a term of immediate imprisonment.1
  • A further 35% resulted in a Suspended Sentence Order.2

Figure 2: Trends over Time for Actual Bodily Harm, 2021-2025

  • Trends in the use of principal sanctions for actual bodily harm have been relatively stable over the last 5 years, with a slight decrease in immediate custodial sentences, and a slight increase in Community Orders.

Immediate Prison Sentence Lengths

Figure 3: Prison Sentence Lengths, Actual Bodily Harm, 2025

  • The most frequent sentence range is between 1 to 2 years, accounting for over 40% of all immediate custodial sentences.
  • Approximately 14% of prison sentences are over 2 years.

Sentencing Outcomes by Sex

Figure 4: Sentencing Outcomes by Sex, Actual Bodily Harm, 2025

  • Female (n=965); Male (n=7,555)
  • IN 2025, the custody rate for assault occasioning actual bodily harm was higher for men (41%) than for women (13%).

These comparative rates do not account for various factors that influence sentencing decisions, such as the offender’s criminal history and the seriousness of the specific offence. Additional research would be needed to determine whether gender affected the sentence imposed.

This Snapshot is one of a series on sentencing trends in England & Wales. Others can be found here. For further information, contact Annalena Wolcke at [email protected]

  1. Data source for all figures: Data calculated from Ministry of Justice (2026), Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly: December 2025, published 30th of April. Outcomes by offence data tool, Table 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2025. ↩︎
  2. ‘Other sanctions’ include: compensation, discharges, and the category ‘otherwise dealt with’ ↩︎