S4A Intentional Harassment, Alarm or Distress (HAD- all about result) Flashcards
Q: What is the offence of intentional harassment, alarm or distress?
S4A Public Order Act 1986
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if, with intent to cause a person harassment, alarm or dis-tress, he—
(a) uses threatening or abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or
(b) displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting,
thereby causing that or another person harassment, alarm or distress
Q: What type of offence is it?
Summary offence
6 months’ imprisonment and/or fine
Q: Is there a racially or religiously aggravated form of the offence?
Triable either way
2 years’ imprisonment and/or fine on indictment
Q: How is s4 different to s4A?
S4- is all about intent.
S4A- is all about the result- it is a step further.
Q: What do you need to show in relation to the direction of the bad behaviour?
Words or behaviour does not need to be aimed at a particular person.
If someone shouts rude or threatening words to the world whilst alone in his garden which is overheard by a neighbour who is insulted and threatens- this is a s4A.
Q: What is the MR of D?
Must show that D intended to cause HAD to someone.
You do not have to show his behaviour was directed towards a specific person.
Someone must suffer HAD- if there is a victim then that is s4A.
Q: What if someone posts a threatening, abusive or insulting letter through a letterbox?
It is not an offence under s4A to post a threatening, abusive or insulting letter through someone’s letterbox, even if it does cause insult to the recipient.
S4A speaks only of displaying, it does not mention distributes.
Q: Can this offence be committed in private?
S4A(2)
S4A defence (same as s4)- no offence is committed where offender and victim are both in a dwell-ing.
An offence under this section may be committed in a public or a private place, except that no of-fence is committed where the words or behaviour are used, or the writing, sign or other visible representation is distributed or displayed, by a person inside a dwelling and the other person is also inside that or another dwelling.
CANNOT BE IN A DWELLING OR DWELLING-DWELLING!
Q: Do both D and V need to be inside a dwelling or can one be inside and one outside?
Both need to be inside a dwelling.
It doesn’t have to be the same dwelling though or their own dwelling.
Q: What is a dwelling again?
It is someone’s home.
A structure of some type which is someone’s home. Doesn’t matter if the home is shared (com-munal living spaces are included).
If it’s only part of a structure that is occupied as a home, such as when a group of squatters take over a disused factory and live in certain rooms, then those rooms are their dwellings for these purposes. The other parts of the factory will not be part of the dwelling.
Q: Are communal living spaces dwellings?
No!
You do not live in lifts, stairwells, communal areas etc… It is just the bits of the structure that are lived in.
Q: What about someone’s back garden/open area?
This is not a dwelling either as it is not a structure.
Q: Does it matter how temporary or moveable the structure is?
If someone lives in it then that is their dwelling.
It can be a tent, vehicle, caravan, houseboat, tree house etc…
Q: What if someone sends an insulting email from their home PC to someone else’s home PC?
Home PC means it is coming from a dwelling to another dwelling then it is not an offence.
If it goes from a home PC to office PC or from office-to-office PC then there might be an offence.
Both offender and victim are not in a dwelling at the time
Q: What is the defence to a s4A offence (not available to s4)?
S4A(3) It is a defence for the accused to prove-
(a) that he was inside a dwelling and had no reason to believe that the words or behaviour used, or the writing, sign or other visible representation displayed, would be heard or seen by a person outside that or any other dwelling, or
(b) that his conduct was reasonable.
