Offenses Against the Person Act

On 27 June 1828, the Act for Consolidating and Amending the Statutes in England, Relative to Offenses Against the Person received the royal assent. Part of Sir Robert Peel’s larger project for streamlining and consolidating the criminal law, the 1828 Offenses Against the Person Act overhauled the law concerning assaults against the person, establishing new, higher penalties for assault and granting to magistrates summary powers over common assaults. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.