Fear or provocation of violence 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 ...

created under the

Public Order Act 1986 The Public Order Act 1986 (c. 64) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a number of public order offences. They replace similar common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936. It implements recommendations

. The offence is created by section 4 of the

: (1) A person is guilty of an offence if he - :(a) uses towards another person threatening behaviour, or :(b) distributes or displays to another person any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening with intent to cause that person to believe that immediate unlawful violence will be used against him or another by any person, or to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence by that person or another, or whereby that person is likely to believe that such violence will be used or it is likely that such violence will be provoked. (2) An offence under this section may be committed in a public or a private place, except that no offence 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 dwelling. It replaces the offence under section 5 of the

Public Order Act 1936 The Public Order Act 1936 ( 1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6. c. 6) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to control extremist political movements in the 1930s such as the British Union of Fascists (BUF). Act Largely the work of Home Of ...

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 The standard scale is a system in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth law whereby financial Criminal law, criminal penalties (Fine (penalty), fines) in legislation have maximum levels set against a standard scale. Then, when inflation makes it nec ...

, or both.The

, section 4(4)

Arrest

Section 4(3) of the 1986 Act formerly provided that a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

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 aggravated offence

The

Crime and Disorder Act 1998 The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c. 37) 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. Its key areas were the introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Se ...

(c.37) creates a label of "racially-aggravated" in its Section 28, Meaning of “racially aggravated”. It describes here what is indicated by the term "racially aggravated", and describes “racial group”: "means a group of persons defined by reference to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins." Section 29 deals with racially aggravated assaults, while Section 30 creates a category of "racially-aggravated criminal damage". Section 31 Racially-aggravated public order offences creates the distinct offence of racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence.legislation.gov.uk: "Crime and Disorder Act 1998"
/ref> Section 32 deals with Racially-aggravated harassment etc..

References

* Blackstones Police Manual Volume 4 General police duties, Fraser Simpson (2006). pp. 248. Oxford University Press. {{reflist Crimes