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Reckless Wounding

Reckless wounding

Reckless wounding is an offence under section 35 of the Crimes Act 1900 and carries a maximum penalty of 7 years’ imprisonment, or 10 years if committed in company.

Reckless wounding is a “Table 1” offence, which means it can be dealt with in the Local Court unless the Prosecution or Defence elects to have the matter dealt with in the District Court. If the matter is finalised in the Local Court, the maximum penalty is 2 years’ imprisonment.

To be found guilty of recklessly causing GBH, the Prosecution must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

• The accused person wounded another person; and

• The accused person was reckless as to causing actual bodily harm to that person or any other person.

If the offence is committed “in company”, there must also be at least one other person present who shares the common purpose to commit the offence.

“Recklessness” is a lower level of culpability than intention. It means that the accused person foresaw the possibility that actual bodily harm could be caused to another person but continued to act anyway. It is important to note that the accused person only needs to realise the possibility of actual bodily harm, which is a lower level of injury than wounding and can include an injury as small as a bruise or scratch.

A wound involves the breaking or cutting of the interior layer of skin (called the dermis). Breaking only the outer layer of skin (epidermis) is not sufficient (R v Smith (1837) 8 Carrington and Payne 173).

A wound does not need to be caused by a weapon, such as a knife, and can include something as minor as a split lip (R v Shepherd [2003] NSWCCA 351).

A common defences to this chargeis self-defence.  Other standard criminal defences also apply.