This cause of death is part of the ‘external’ causes of death category (see Map 5) and comes under the sub-category of ‘Homicide and injury purposely inflicted by other persons’. Excluded are killings using firearms, knives and other cutting implements.

See also Map 18 Assault by cutting and Map 20 Assault using firearms.

As with other forms of assault, Scotland sees the highest SMRs, followed by London. Males have higher rates than females. Assaults are often fuelled by alcohol, a sense of loss of face and lack of respect. Different areas also have very different traditions of violence.

This group includes deaths of people who have been murdered by methods other than cutting or firearms, such as poisoning, strangulation and suffocation, beating and kicking.

In England and Wales, coroners have been investigating sudden and unnatural deaths since shortly after the Norman Conquest in 1066. It is the role of the coroner to determine the name of the deceased and the cause of death. When the death is unexpected, violent or unnatural the coroner can decide whether to have a post-mortem examination and if an inquest is necessary. The coroner can return a range of verdicts, including ‘unlawful killing’, ‘death by misadventure’, and an ‘open verdict’.

The situation is different in Scotland, where the legal system is based largely on Roman law rather than the common law of England and Wales. Here investigations into certain deaths are carried out by the procurator fiscal, who also deals with all kinds of criminal and civil court cases.