Threatening Behaviour (Section 4 Public Order Act 1986)

Threatening Behaviour is the offence of fear or provocation of violence under s.4 Public Order Act 1986. A person is guilty of an offence if he uses towards another person threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or distributes or displays to another person any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting, 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 (s.4(1)). The offence 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 representation is distributed or displayed, by a person inside a dwelling and the other person is also inside that or another dwelling (s.4(2)). Maximum sentence: on summary conviction, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both (s.4(4)). Where the s.4 offence is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of s.28 Crime and Disorder Act 1998, it is a separate offence under s.31(1)(a) of that Act, triable either way, with a maximum on conviction on indictment of two years' imprisonment or a fine or both, and on summary conviction six months' imprisonment or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both (s.31(4)).

In practice

This is a summary-only offence: it must be tried at the magistrates' court. Police may charge without CPS authority for summary offences. 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).