Intentional harassment, alarm or distress is a

statutory A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

offence in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. It is an aggravated form of the offence of harassment, alarm or distress under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.

The offence

The offence is created by section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986, which was inserted by section 154 of the

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed ...

Mode of trial and sentence

This is a

summary offence A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment (required for an indictable offence). Canada In Canada, summary offe ...

. It is punishable with

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both. Public Order Act 1986, section 4A(5)

Arrest

Section 4A(4) of the 1986 Act formerly provided that a constable (or designated person) could arrest without warrant anyone he reasonably suspected was committing this offence. This was repealed by section 174 of, and Part 2 of Schedule 17 to, the

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c. 15) (often abbreviated to SOCPA or SOCAP) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed primarily at creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It also significan ...

Racially or religiously aggravated offence

Section 31(1)(b) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) creates the distinct offence of racially or religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress.

Notes

References

* ''Blackstones Police Manual'' Volume 4 General Police Duties, Fraser Simpson (2006). pp. 251. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN, 0-19-928522-5 Freedom of speech Harassment law English legal terminology English criminal law