The defendant’s brother was stopped and searched by a police officer. While this search was going on the defendant approached and swore at the PC on two occasions, interfering with the search. He was cautioned after the first swearing incident and arrested after the second.
Held: Whether the person addressed is a police officer or a member of the public, the words ‘fuck you’ or ‘fuck off’ are potentially abusive, and may form the basis of a charge under the section.
Fulford J said: ‘Frequently though they may be used these days, we have not yet reached the stage where a court is required to conclude that those words are of such little significance that they no longer constitute abuse. Questions of context and circumstance may affect the court’s ultimate conclusion as to whether, in an individual case, they are abusive, but on these facts, during an incident in which the appellant was strongly opposing the detention of his brother, they were delivered in a situation which sustainably led the court to conclude that they were abusive. I stress that the decision on an issue of this kind will always be fact dependent.’
Judges:
Fulford J, Latham LJ
Citations:
[2006] EWHC 3449 (Admin)
Links:
Statutes:
Public Order Act 1986 591) 5(6)
Cited by:
Cited – Harvey v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 17-Nov-2011
The appellant had been approached and searched by police officers and swore at them. He now appealed against a conviction under section 5 of the 1986 Act.
Held: The use of the word ‘fuck’ was common in such situations. Neither officer had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.249152