Crime Solicitors

The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 is commonly known as the ‘anti-stalking law,’ but it does not actually use the word ‘stalking’ and does not properly define what constitutes ‘harassment.’ It is, in the end, down to the individual court to decide whether the conduct in a particular case amounts to harassment.

Defendants can deny stalking or harassment charges and justify their actions by claiming that what they were doing was trying to prevent or detect a crime or that it was, under the circumstances, reasonable conduct. It is, in such cases, down to the accused to prove this line of defence.

Under the 1997 Act, the Section 2 offence is brought before a Magistrates Court and can be punished with up to six months in prison or a fine not exceeding Level 5, around £5000. The Section 4 offence can be brought before a Crown Court or a Magistrates Court. The Crown Court has the power to impose a jail term of up to five years, a fine or both.

The court also has the power to impose a restraining order, banning the defendant from behaving in a particular manner for a certain period of time; for example, not to contact his victim again or not to frequent a particular road or neighbourhood for a certain period, such as two years. The appeals court has no guidelines for this and again it is down to the sentencing court to rule on whether a type of behaviour constitutes stalking or harassment and to decide on time-spans for restraining orders.
Harassment can take many different forms and there have been a number of recent legislation changes to take account of the fact that many of these constitute forms of anti-social behaviour. From time to time, laws concerned with racial harassment may also come into play in these and similar cases. Examples of anti-social behaviour that constitute harassment include yobbish behaviour, spraying graffiti and selling drugs on the street.

The 1997 Act therefore deals with a range of various offences, rather than just stalking, although for stalking cases it is the primary piece of legislation. Two incidents of harassment rather than a single one are required to bring a prosecution under this Act, reflecting the harassment element. This also accounts for the inclusion of the phrase, ‘reasonable person,’ rather than specific intent, as is the case with most other criminal offences.

It is also possible to grant an injunction in common law, on the basis of a case in 1995 and anyone who thinks they are being stalked can apply for a Non Molestation Order under the Family Law Act 1996. The court can attach a power of arrest to this type of order and the defendant can be arrested if they should breach it.

For more detailed information on this somewhat hazy piece of legislation, which is used to deal with harassment and stalking, contact Duncan Lewis and other crime solicitors.