Harassment, Alarm or Distress
Encyclopedia
Harassment, alarm or distress is a statutory offence in England and Wales
. It is also a term of art used in sections 4A and 5 of the Public Order Act 1986
(which take their names from this expression).
This offence has the following statutory defences: The defendant
had no reason to believe that there was any person within hearing or sight who was likely to be alarmed or distressed by his action. The defendant was in a dwelling
and had no reason to believe that his behaviour would be seen or heard by any person outside any dwelling. The conduct was reasonable.
. It is punishable with a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale
. (£1,000 as of 2009).
(which required a warning to be given beforehand). They were repealed by section 174 of, and Part 2 of Schedule 17 to, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
. Arrest for this offence is now governed by section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
(as substituted by the 2005 Act).
and Wales
during the 2001–2003 period, with approximately three thousand cases resulting in guilty findings.
creates the distinct offence of intentional harassment, alarm or distress
.
(c.37) creates the distinct offence of racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress.
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
. It is also a term of art used in sections 4A and 5 of the Public Order Act 1986
Public Order Act 1986
The Public Order Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of public order offences. They replace similar common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936...
(which take their names from this expression).
The offence
The offence is created by section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986:- "(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he:
- (a) uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviourHuman behaviorHuman behavior refers to the range of behaviors exhibited by humans and which are influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics....
, or disorderly behaviour, or - (b) displays any writingWritingWriting is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting,
- (a) uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour
- within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassmentHarassmentHarassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
, alarmAlarmAn alarm device or system of alarm devices gives an audible or visual alarm signal about a problem or condition.Alarm devices include:* burglar alarms, designed to warn of burglaries; this is often a silent alarm: the police or guards are warned without indication to the burglar, which increases...
or distressStress (medicine)Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
thereby."
This offence has the following statutory defences: The defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
had no reason to believe that there was any person within hearing or sight who was likely to be alarmed or distressed by his action. The defendant was in a dwelling
Dwelling
Dwelling, as well as being a term for a house, or for living somewhere, or for lingering somewhere, is a philosophical concept which was developed by Martin Heidegger. Dwelling is about making yourself at home where the home itself is a building that is a house...
and had no reason to believe that his behaviour would be seen or heard by any person outside any dwelling. The conduct was reasonable.
Mode of trial and sentence
This is a summary offenceSummary offence
A summary offence is a criminal act in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded with summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment .- United States :...
. It is punishable with a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale
Standard scale
The standard scale is a system whereby financial criminal penalties in legislation have maximum levels set against a standard scale. Then, when inflation makes it necessary to increase the levels of the fines the legislators need to modify only the scale rather than each individual piece of...
. (£1,000 as of 2009).
Arrest
Sections 5(4) and (5) of the 1986 Act formerly provided a statutory power of arrestArrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
(which required a warning to be given beforehand). They were repealed by section 174 of, and Part 2 of Schedule 17 to, the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005
The Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed primarily at creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency, it also significantly extended and simplified the powers of arrest of a constable and introduced restrictions on protests in the...
. Arrest for this offence is now governed by section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wales to combat crime, as well as providing codes of practice for the exercise of those powers. Part VI of PACE required the Home Secretary...
(as substituted by the 2005 Act).
Statistics
There were four to five thousand prosecutions for harassment, alarm or distress brought each year in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
during the 2001–2003 period, with approximately three thousand cases resulting in guilty findings.
Intentional, harassment alarm or distress
Section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986Public Order Act 1986
The Public Order Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of public order offences. They replace similar common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936...
creates the distinct offence of intentional harassment, alarm or distress
Intentional Harassment, Alarm or Distress
Intentional harassment, alarm or distress is a statutory offence in England and Wales. It is an aggravated form of the offence of harassment, alarm or distress under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.-The offence:...
.
Racially or religiously aggravated offence
Section 31(1)(c) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998Crime and Disorder Act 1998
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received Royal Assent in July 1998...
(c.37) creates the distinct offence of racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress.