Stalking Involving Fear of Violence or Serious Alarm or Distress (Section 4A Protection from Harassment Act 1997)

Stalking Involving Fear of Violence or Serious Alarm or Distress is an offence under s.4A Protection from Harassment Act 1997. A person (A) whose course of conduct amounts to stalking, and either causes another (B) to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against B, or causes B serious alarm or distress which has a substantial adverse effect on B's usual day-to-day activities, is guilty of the offence if A knows or ought to know that the course of conduct will cause B so to fear on each of those occasions or will cause such alarm or distress (s.4A(1)). A ought to know this if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct would have that effect (s.4A(2) and (3)). A course of conduct amounts to stalking if it amounts to harassment, the acts or omissions involved are ones associated with stalking, and A knows or ought to know that it amounts to harassment (s.2A(2)); examples of acts associated with stalking include following a person, contacting or attempting to contact a person by any means, publishing material relating or purporting to relate to a person or purporting to originate from a person, monitoring a person's use of the internet, email or other electronic communication, loitering in any place, interfering with property in a person's possession, and watching or spying on a person (s.2A(3)). It is a defence for A to show that the course of conduct was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime, under any enactment or rule of law, or was reasonable for the protection of A or another or of property (s.4A(4)). Maximum sentence: on conviction on indictment, imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, a fine or both; on summary conviction, imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates' court (12 months in the case of an offence triable either way: Sentencing Act 2020, s.224(1A)(b)), a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both (s.4A(5)), the summary limb being read as six months for an offence committed before 2 May 2022 (s.4A(6)). On a trial on indictment the jury may convict of an offence under s.2 or 2A instead (s.4A(7)), and the section is without prejudice to the generality of s.4, putting people in fear of violence (s.4A(9)).

In practice

This is an either-way offence: it may be tried at the magistrates' court or the Crown Court. Mode of trial depends on the seriousness and the defendant's election. Officers should use the stalking risk identification checklist and conduct a thorough risk assessment. A Stalking Protection Order (SPO) should be considered at the earliest opportunity. Evidence gathering should cover all channels of contact: physical, digital, and third-party intermediaries. Victim safety planning is essential: consider a panic alarm, flagged address, and liaison with the victim's employer. Officers should photograph injuries at the earliest opportunity if applicable. Domestic abuse cases require completion of a DASH risk assessment. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).