[1] In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book.

[2] In 1816, both Houses of Parliament, passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make a digest of the statutes, which was declared "very expedient to be done."

This included efforts to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions from a large number of earlier statutes, including:[4] In 1827, several acts were passed for this purpose, territorially limited to England and Wales and Scotland, including: In an address to Parliament titled State of the Common Law on 29 February 1828, the home secretary, Sir Robert Peel MP stated that during his absence from office, work had been done to prepare reforms related to offences against the person, as part of broader ongoing efforts to reform and consolidate the criminal law.

[5] The Offences against the Person Bill was presented by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne and had its first reading in the House of Lords on 3 March 1828.

[6] In his speech introducing the Bill, Lord Lansdowne, outlined several key changes to the law regarding offenses against the person to at modernise and clarifying existing laws while addressing gaps and inconsistencies in the current system, including:[7] The Bill was committed to a Committee of the Whole House, which met on 28 March 1828 and reported with amendments on 3 April 1828.

[9] The Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 21 April 1828,[9] introduced by the home secretary, Sir Robert Peel MP.

For the first time, all acts of attempted murder were categorized and treated as equivalent crimes of violence by the degree of harm done to the victim, rather than by the narrower scope of whether a specific offensive weapon had been used.

This consolidation put the focus on the unacceptability of the violence itself, and not just the real or potential physical injuries that resulted.

[13] Section 14 of the act made the concealment of the birth of a child a misdemeanour, whether by a single or married woman.

[12] Section 15 of the act extended the crime of bestiality to "animals", not "beasts", therefore including birds or reptiles.

[12][14] Prior to the act, society tolerated a degree of violence such as duelling, and what was considered to be the male right to physically discipline a spouse, children, and anyone of a lower social order, such as servants.

Due to the costs of prosecution, which fell to the victim and could only be recouped on conviction, very few assault cases were brought to trial; they were usually seen as private matters to be resolved before, or mediated by a magistrate during, the process.

[15] The act has been described by historian as Gregory Smith as "the first truly comprehensive piece of legislation designed to address interpersonal violence in British society".

The act also made it a felony punishable by death to carnally know a girl under the age of ten.

The act also affirmed that proof of penetration was sufficient to reach the conclusion that one person had had carnal knowledge of another; before the 1828 statute, victims of rape had to prove that the perpetrator ejaculated.

Historian Anna Clark has argued that medical experts used ejaculation as proof of rape because it was tangible evidence that reduced the need for a victim's testimony.

[16] Clark also contends that requiring proof of ejaculation allowed judges and magistrates to ask victims humiliating and explicit questions.

[16] By changing the definition of carnal knowledge from ejaculation to proof of penetration, the 1828 act made it a little easier for victims to prosecute their rapists.

[2] The Board issued three reports, recommending the creation of a permanent body for statute law reform.

Wood to expurgate the statute book of all acts which, though not expressly repealed, were not in force, working backwards from the present time.

[2] In 1861, Bills were introduced to consolidate and modernise the criminal law, drafted by Charles Sprengel Greaves across:[17] In 1861, the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts were passed: The territorial extent of the act was limited to England and Wales.