Fighting & murder

Other names for fighting include: punch, kick, fight, spit, hit, beat up, slap, batter, hurt, abuse, slash, cut, push, deck, fist.

Can you think of any more?

Fighting is also called assault and can be as small as touching someone without their consent. You don’t have to be violent to commit assault.

There are a few different types of fighting or assault. You might hear some of them on TV or in movies. We’ve explained what they mean below.

Common assault is when you’re violent towards another person, e.g. hitting them or even spitting on them. If you assault someone like this, you could go to prison for 6 months or be fined up to £5,000.

ABH (Actual Bodily Harm) is when you injure someone, e.g. kicking them to cause a bruise. If you cause someone actual bodily harm, you could end up in prison for 5 years.

GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm) means you’ve caused someone serious injury, e.g. a broken bone or stabbing. It’s more serious than ABH and so means you could receive a life sentence if found guilty of GBH.

Affray basically means you’re fighting with another person or a group of people. You can receive a 3 year prison sentence if you commit affray.

Violent disorder is the term used when there’s more than one of you being violent or threatening. It comes with a maximum 5 year prison sentence.

If you have information about fighting/assault, be fearless and let us know anonymously.

Other names for murder include: murk, kill, homicide, assassinate.

Can you think of any more?

Murder is when you kill someone on purpose, e.g. stabbing them. It’s more serious if you plan it and it’s normally confused with manslaughter. Murder carries a maximum life sentence in prison if you’re found guilty.

Manslaughter is when you kill someone but don’t mean it, e.g. throwing a brick off a bridge, making a car crash and killing the driver. Although not as serious as murder, it’s still very serious and you can get a maximum life sentence if found guilty.

If you have information about murder/manslaughter, be fearless and let us know anonymously.

Many gangs have rival gangs. Gangs can be rivals if they don’t agree with each others principles. For example gangs might be rivals if;

• They are from different schools
• Live in different areas of the UK
• Have different postcodes
• Live of different estates
• Have different religious beliefs

It is often the case that these gangs will meet to fight to prove their status. Although these fights can be pre arranged they can also happen randomly if rival gang members are walking in a rival gang’s territory.

If you have any information about street gang activity, be fearless and let us know anonymously.

As we have explored under the gangs section of the site, there are many reasons for being involved in a criminal street gang. One important reason for many is having respect. If a gang member feels disrespected it is important in their minds to punish those who caused this - this can be as serious as murdering them.

Many of the reports in the media covering reports of teenage stabbings accuse gang rivalry as the cause of the crime.

If you have any information about street gang murders, be fearless and let us know anonymously.

If you have any information about criminal gangs, be fearless and let us know anonymously.