Harassment, Malcoms, Computer Misuse Flashcards
Harassment (simple) (s.1)
Protection and Harassment Act 1997
· Person pursues course of conduct on at least 2 occasions
· amounts to harassment of another
· they know (subjective) or ought to have known (objective) it would amount to harassment
Course of conduct need not be directed at the same victim
Defences: preventing/detecting crime | under rule of law | reasonable (objective test)
Harassment (S.1A)
Protection and Harassment Act 1997
· Person pursues a course of conduct (at least one occasion in relation to each person)
· which involves harassment of 2 or more persons
· know or ought to know it amounts to harassment
· By which they intend to persuade any person either:
o not to do something they’re entitled to do
o to do something they’re not obliged to do
No result required – victim does not need to be alarmed/distressed
Company cannot be victim but can be offender. Employees can be victims.
The acts of harassment do not need to be of the same nature
Harassment amounting to stalking (s.2A)
Protection and Harassment Act 1997
· Person pursues a course of conduct amounting to harassment
· and acts or omissions are carried out via stalking
· defendant knew or ought to have known their conduct amounted to harassment
Power of entry through warrant – grounds to believe offence is committed
Putting people in fear of violence (S. 4)
Protection and Harassment Act 1997
· Cause another to fear, on at least 2 occasions, violence will be used against them (not a loved one)
· Defendant knows or ought to know their conduct will cause fear on each occasion
Result required? yes, each occasion subject needs to be in fear (although the fear does not have to be at the time)
Stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress (s.4A)
Protection and Harassment Act 1997
· Person pursues course of conduct amounting to stalking which causes another person:
o fear (at least 2 occasions) that violence will be used against them; or
o serious alarm or distress which has substantial adverse effect on day-to-day activities
o offender knew or ought to know their conduct caused the victim fear/alarm/distress on each occasion
Harassment of a person in their home – s. 42A Criminal justice & Police Act 2001
Person is outside or in the vicinity of a dwelling for the purpose of either: representing to or persuading the resident or anyone else not to do something they’re entitled to do or do something that they’re not under an obligation to do. And the person either intends, knows or ought to know that their presence is causing/likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to the resident. And their presence in the vicinity amounts to HAD or is likely to result in HAD of the resident or a person inside the resident’s dwelling or a person in another dwelling in the vicinity of the resident’s dwelling.
Includes: persistent and aggressive hammering on a door; climbing onto the roof of a dwelling, and aggressive use of banners or placards to block or impede access.
A police officer does not have to be present when the harassment occurs
Sec. 1 Malicious Communications Act - 1988
Malcoms / Offence of sending letters etc. with intent to cause distress or anxiety.
It is an offence for a person to send, for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety, any item (including electronic communications) which contains:
- indecent or grossly offensive content
- a threat (unless it was made reasonably to reinforce a demand)
- information which is false and known or believed to be false; or
- any article which is entirely or partly, indecent or grossly offensive
Unauthorised access to computers (hacking) – s.1 Computer Misuse Act 1990
The offender:
- causes a computer to perform a function
- with intent to secure unauthorised access
- to any program or data held in any computer
- and they know the access is/would be unauthorised.
Access must be unauthorised rather than the use of the data being unauthorised
Computer = PC, mobile phone, tablet, mp3 player etc
Intent offence – result not required
The intent does not need to relate to a specific program or data
Reading material off a screen = not an offence
An attempt to log on with the required intent to access program/data= offence committed
Unauthorised access to computer with intent (hacking with intent) – s.2 Computer Misuse Act 1990
A person commits a s.1 offence and at the time of committing the offence they do so with an additional, ulterior intent to commit or facilitate the commission (by themselves or another) of a specific category of further offences:
- Offences which carry a sentenced fixed by law; or
- Offences which may received 5 years imprisonment (for person 18 or over with no previous convictions)
The offender must have formed the ulterior intent at the time of committing the s.1 (not after).
The further offence does not need to be committed for the offence to be complete. It’s the intent that counts – not result. The person can be guilty even if the further offence is impossible.
Unauthorised modification of computer material – s.3 Computer Misuse Act 1990
The offender does any act which causes an unauthorised modification of the contents of any computer, whether permanent or temporary. At the time of the act they have both the intent and knowledge.
Intent = an intent to cause a modification of the contents of any computer that will cause any of 3 consequences:
- Impair the operation of any computer
- Prevent or hinder access to any program or data held in any computer
- Impair the operation of any such program or the reliability of any such data
Unauthorised acts causing or creating the risk of serious damage – s.3ZA Computer Misuse Act 1990
The person
- does any unauthorised act in relation to a computer; and
- at the time of doing the act the person knows this is unauthorised.
- the act causes or creates a significant risk of serious damage of a material kind; and
- the person intends or is reckless that serious damage will be caused by the act.
