Perhaps more liberal views have emerged since the Spanner case, or it may be that it seems here the students injured themselves rather than each other.
Unfortunately the gender of the participants, and the presence or absence of a sexual motive, could also make a difference here. Where there was a sexual motive, juries have shown themselves more reluctant to convict opposite-sex couples than same-sex couples, and the police will be aware of this. I also suspect that juries would generally be more reluctant to convict in a non-sexual case, particularly one that can be characterised as "students larking about", which has a certain sort of social acceptability about it. Basically, I think the more you conform to the cultural narrative of what is acceptable behaviour for someone of your gender and life-stage, the less likely you are to be convicted, regardless of what the letter of the law says.
no subject
Unfortunately the gender of the participants, and the presence or absence of a sexual motive, could also make a difference here. Where there was a sexual motive, juries have shown themselves more reluctant to convict opposite-sex couples than same-sex couples, and the police will be aware of this. I also suspect that juries would generally be more reluctant to convict in a non-sexual case, particularly one that can be characterised as "students larking about", which has a certain sort of social acceptability about it. Basically, I think the more you conform to the cultural narrative of what is acceptable behaviour for someone of your gender and life-stage, the less likely you are to be convicted, regardless of what the letter of the law says.