Metropolitan Police Service Practice Test

The main idea being tested is that applying unlawful physical force to someone constitutes an assault, and consent doesn’t automatically excuse that when the force is used to restrain them. In this scenario, holding Shuresh down involves deliberate use of physical force to restrain him, while others continue with the initiation. There is no lawful justification for this restraint, and Shuresh’s consent to initiation does not make the act legal. Consent is not a blanket defense to assault; even if someone agrees to take part in rough activity, the force used must be reasonable and within what they’ve agreed to. For initiation, forcing someone to be held down against their will crosses the line into assault. The existence of potential injury or fear of immediate harm is enough to classify it as assault, even before any injury occurs.