Reasonable Force in Self-Defence: UK Law and When You Can Legally Defend Yourself

How do you defend yourself within the context of the law

Introduction

When most people talk about defending themselves in a self defence situation they usually make a couple of fatal errors; one is they describe self defence situations as they would a fight, which it is not, as street fighting is illegal and does not fall under the legal act of self defence. Two they do not take into account UK law and how this determines your actions.

You do not want to start off as the victim, use excessive force against your assailant and end up on the wrong side of the law. In this article we will explore how UK law can be applied in self defence.

What the Law Says About Self Defence in the UK

Currently the law states that people are allowed to defend themselves or others, to prevent crime or to protect property using force that was reasonable in the circumstances as they believed them to be. What constitutes ‘reasonable force’ will depend upon the circumstances of each case and is a matter for the courts to decide.

Put simply; as long as you genuinely believe that your actions were justified relative to the threat you are covered legally. Of course it is slightly more complicated than this as the context and how you behaved once the threat was dealt with and how others viewed the altercation will also be taken into account. .

Key Legal Provisions Relating to Self Defence

Criminal Damage Act 1971; Allows destruction of property in defence of your own or another’s property in immediate danger.

Criminal Law Act 1967; Permits the use of reasonable force to prevent crime. Introduces the concept of a ‘citizen’s arrest’ under reasonable suspicion.

Section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008

Legal test for self-defence:

Subjective test: Did the person genuinely believe force was necessary?

Objective test: Was the level of force used reasonable in those circumstances?

What Is Considered ‘Reasonable Force’?

According to UK law It is not about whether the threat was real, but what the defender believed at the time. The law is very lenient in the UK as it takes into account that people will not be thinking clearly under a high stress situation. This is why striking first to nullify a threat is lawful as long as there is a genuine belief of imminent attack. Reasonable force is not a fixed definition and is very much context dependent, as long as the force is proportionate to what you believed the threat it will be considered legal under UK law.

Can You Use Force to Protect Someone Else?

One-hundred percent yes, you can defend yourself and another person but the same tests of belief and reasonableness apply.

Is It Still Self Defence If You Hit Someone First?

There is an awful myth in martial arts that attacking someone first in a self defence situation is somehow wrong or dishonorable. Hitting first is in fact it is a statistically proven and effective way of dealing with non-consensual violence and creating an opportunity to escape before the situation escalates.

Preemptive strikes can be justified as long as, you believe there to be an imminent attack and you genuinely believe that you were in danger of being attacked.

What Counts as Excessive Force?

Force becomes excessive when it goes beyond what is necessary for you to defend yourself. If you hit someone they hit the floor and instead of using the opportunity to escape you follow them down onto the floor and continue to hit them you are now using excessive force and the law is no longer on your side. That said if you hit someone and try to escape but the person continues to attack you then you would be justified in continuing to fight back until you can escape or they are no longer able to continue to attack you. What is considered excessive is very much context dependent.

Excessive force removes the legal protection of self defence, so practicing when to stop and how to escape are fundamental skills in self defence.

Self-Defence in the Home: Special Considerations

As we keep saying in this article context is so important when it comes to understanding reasonable force in relation to UK law. Section 76 specifically addresses “householder cases”:

Force must still be reasonable but acknowledges that higher levels may be considered acceptable due to the stress of intrusion.

That said it does not mean that someone defending themselves within their home has impunity to act as they want and force must still be reasonable for it to be legal.

Citizen’s Arrest: Your Legal Rights

Under the Criminal Law Act 1967, anyone can arrest someone committing a serious crime. But again, it must be done using reasonable force and only if police intervention is not available or practical.

Summary and Final Thoughts

If you take anything away from this article it should be that for self defence to be considered legal under UK law actions must be proportionate to the believed threat. It is up to the individual to act reasonably and is therefore important for you to understand the law, your rights and practice appropriate responses to different self defence situations.

The practice of self defence can be done in our self defence classes. You can book your trial class and learn how to defend yourself while remaining within UK law.