*

Crime Reduction Toolkits

Racist Incidents and Harassment

Crime - Let's bring it down
  
* *
*
* *
*Front Page | Site Help | Search | Contact Us | Site Map

 
*
*
Toolkits Homepage
*
Toolkits Content
*
*
Introduction
*
What do we know
*
Local Solutions
*
Tackling The Problem
*
Making It Happen
*
Resources
*
Innovation
*
Practical Tools
*
Contact Points
*
*
*

Toolkit Index

Send a Letter or Article to Cause Distress or Anxiety

Act

S1 (1) Malicious Communications Act 1988

Points to prove

send to another person

letter/article convey

indecent/grossly offensive message

OR threat

OR false information known or believed to be false

For purpose of causing anxiety/distress

To recipient/other person to whom intended communicated

(b) Send to another person

other article

wholly/partly of an

indecent/grossly offensive nature

for purpose of causing distress/anxiety

to recipient/other person to whom intended communicated

Penalty

Fine not exceeding level 4

Power of arrest

Arrestable offence

Notes:

A person subject to hate mail has the option of a civil claim for damages if the material is deemed defamatory. This means that the material is untrue or damaging to his/her reputation. It is slander if it is spoken and libel if it is written or in another permanent form. The libel must be communicated to a third party. Therefore, a letter impugning the victim’s reputation, sent direct by the offender to the victim, would not give rise to a civil claim. However, a displayed poster or a letter circulated to others would suffice.

Where the victim is not identified by name, he or she may still have a claim if the libel refers to an identifiable limited class of which they are members. It must be borne in mind that even if a victim were successful, the offender may be a person of limited or no means and thus not in a position to pay any damages awarded at trial. There is no legal aid to bring this kind of claim.

Back to Public Order Act 1986 Racial Hatred ss17-29

<<Contents

 > Previous Section

 > Next Section

 

 

 *
   
** Back to Top    Site Help    Search    Contact Us    Site Map    Knowledgebase