Battery (crime)

Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault, which is the act of creating apprehension of such contact. Battery is a specific common law offense, although the term is used more generally to refer to any unlawful offensive physical contact with another person. Battery is defined by American common law as "any unlawful and or unwanted touching of the person of another by the aggressor, or by a substance put in motion by them". In more severe cases, and for all types in some jurisdictions, it is chiefly defined by statutory wording. Assessment of the severity of a battery is determined by local law. Specific rules regarding battery vary among different jurisdictions, but some elements remain constant across jurisdictions. Battery generally requires that: an offensive touch or contact is made upon the victim, instigated by the actor; and the actor intends or knows that their action will cause the offensive touching. Under the US Model Penal Code and in some jurisdictions, there is battery when the actor acts recklessly without specific intent of causing an offensive contact. Battery is typically classified as either simple or aggravated. Although battery typically occurs in the context of physical altercations, it may also occur under other circumstances, such as in medical cases where a doctor performs a non-consented medical procedure. Battery is not defined in the Canadian Criminal Code. Instead, the Code has an offense of assault, and assault causing bodily harm. Battery is a common law offence within England and Wales. As with the majority of offences in the UK, it has two elements: Actus reus: The defendant unlawfully touched or applied force to the victim Mens rea: The defendant intended or was reckless as to the unlawful touch or application of force This offence is a crime against autonomy, with more violent crimes such as ABH and GBH being statutory offences under the Offences against the Person Act 1861. As such, even the slightest of touches can amount to an unlawful application of force.