Obstructing a Police Officer Flashcards
Q: What is the law on obstructing a police officer?
S89 Police Act 1996
(2) Any person who resists or wilfully obstructs a constable in the execution of his duty, or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, shall be guilty of an offence.
Q: What type of offence is obstructing a police officer?
Summary offence
1 months’ imprisonment and/or a fine
Q: What must an officer be doing for an offence to occur?
No offence under s. 89(2) can be committed unless the officer was acting in the lawful execution of his/her duty
Q: What does ‘obstruction’ mean?
Not the same as resist- which suggests some form of physical opposition.
Obstruction has been interpreted as making it more difficult for a constable to carry out his/her duty (Hinchcliffe- 1995)
Q: Examples of obstructing a police officer
Glendinning 2005- warning other drivers of a speed check operation (persons warned about the speed check must be actually committing or about to commit the speeding offence).
Ingleton 1972- Deliberating drinking alcohol after being stopped before providing a breath specimen
Q: Is refusal to answer questions classed as obstruct police?
Refusing to answer an officer’s questions is not obstruction (Rice 1966), neither is advising a person not to answer questions (Green 1991) unless perhaps D was under some duty to provide information
Q: Is providing misleading info to the police obstruction?
Yes!
Q: Can obstruct police be unintentional?
Any obstruction must be wilful, that is the D must intend to do it. The obstruction will not be ‘wilful’ if the defendant was simply trying to help the police, even if that help turned out to be more of a hindrance (Willmot 1977)
Q: Can obstruction be caused by omission?
Obstruction can be caused by omission but only where the defendant was already under some duty towards the police or the officer.
Q: Is there an offence for refusing to go to the aid of a constable when asked to do so?
There is also a common law offence of refusing to go to the aid of a constable when asked to do so in order to prevent or diminish a breach of the peace (Waugh 1986)
