UK sentencing guidelines for affray

There are any number of situations where public encounters can start to get out of hand. Whether at a football match, a pub argument that starts to go too far or at a rowdy protest, in the aftermath of these events, it’s important to be aware of the potential legal ramifications that you might be facing. 

One of the potential criminal offences that you can find yourself facing in these situations is called affray. Below, we explore what affray actually means, how you can end up being charged with affray, and what the sentencing guidelines might look like should you be found guilty. 

If you believe that you might face charges of affray in the near future, it’s imperative that you get the right legal support. Reach out to a criminal defence solicitor as soon as possible, so that you have enough time to organise an effective legal defence.

 

What is affray?

Affray is a criminal offence defined by section 3 of the Public Order Act 1986. According to the act, you can be found guilty of affray if you engage in the threat or use of unlawful violence towards someone, in a way that would make a reasonable person who is present at the scene fear for their own personal safety. 

Importantly, the person fearing for their safety will be a bystander, not the person directly facing the violence or threats of violence. It essentially constitutes a substantial enough ‘breach of the peace’ to be considered a serious risk to bystanders; despite being a public order offence, it is an offence that can be committed in either private or public.

What constitutes violence?

With affray, the violence cannot merely be verbal, or a verbal threat of violence. There must be some kind of physical gesture of violence, and it must also be carried out by at least 2 people, but potentially more.

 

Examples

Below are a few potential examples of what affray might look like.

A fight in a pub

One potential example of affray is a group of people who get into a fight in a pub. The fight goes beyond verbal threats, and they start punching one another in a manner that causes the people in the surrounding area to also reasonably fear for their safety.

An armed group

Another example could be a group of people arriving at a park, armed with weapons (such as bats or knives). They then wield these weapons in a threatening manner, such that the people in the surrounding area fear for their safety.

 

Sentencing guidelines for affray

According to the sentencing guidelines, the maximum sentence that you can receive for affray is three years in prison, with an offence range of between a fine and 2 years 9 months in prison.

The breadth of possible sentences that you might receive is illustrative of how many different contexts this offence can be committed in.

Ancillary orders

There are also a range of ancillary orders that you can receive, in addition to a fine or custodial sentence. This could include:

• Having to pay compensation in cases where injury is caused or losses are suffered.
• Receiving a criminal behaviour order (or CBO) with the aim to prevent future engagement in this kind of criminal behaviour.
• An order to prevent the person from spending time in premises in which there is a license to supply alcohol for consumption on the premises.
• A football banning order, whereby the person will be banned from attending football matches.

It’s also important to be aware of these orders, and the impact that they could have on your life. If any stand to have an outsized impact (such as if you work at a pub, or in a football stadium), then you will need to work with your solicitor to make sure this outsized impact is made aware to the court.

 

Impacting factors

As with most offences, sentences are determined primarily by assessing culpability and harm.

Culpability

An offender will be considered more culpable where an individual is targeted by a group, a weapon is used to inflict the violence, there is serious or sustained violence, or there is an intention to cause fear of serious violence.

They will likely be considered to be less culpable if there is only a threat or use of minimal violence, or if the offender acted in self-defence or at least due to the fear of violence.

Harm

Cases involving serious physical injury to others or serious fear caused will be placed in a higher harm bracket. Those involving little or no physical injury to others, or just some fear caused, will be placed in a lower harm bracket. 

Practical impact on sentencing

Where an offender is found to be highly culpable and to have engaged in an act that is highly harmful, the sentencing starting point will be at 2 years custody, with a range of between 1 year 6 months and 2 years 9 months imprisonment. 

At the other end of the scale, where minimal harm is caused and the offender is only minimally culpable, the starting point will be a medium level community order, with a range of between a band C fine and a high level community order.

 

Combination with other offences

Due to the nature of the offence, affray will often be committed alongside another offence such as assault, battery, or some other kind of violent crime. It’s important that you tackle these various offences together, and assemble a sufficiently complex and nuanced defence to deal with each offence. 

You will need to find a criminal defence solicitor who is sufficiently experienced in dealing with offences of this nature, and put aside the time and resources to take the offence seriously.

As you can see, the sentence that you can receive for affray can be very serious. It’s imperative that you seek advice from a criminal defence solicitor at the earliest opportunity available to you, to ensure that you achieve the best outcome for your set of circumstances. The more time you have to prepare, the better things will turn out.