BBC News - 'Fresh proposals' planned over cyber-monitoring

[Ian Mason]

On May 28, 2013, at 4:59 PM, Francis Davey wrote:

>
> 2013/5/28 Roland Perry <lists at internetpolicyagency.com>
>
> Because we are corresponding by email, not the web.
>
> Bah. I think in 2013 I can expect the notorious Roland Perry to be  
> able to look something up on the web. It is not as if the world wide  
> web is rather new to you. I see that on ukcrypto I will have to  
> quote the relevant statute rather than merely citing it.
>
> Fair enough, but that wasn't clear from the earlier posting.
>
> That's why I make a practice of citing sources, so that people who  
> want to know more can read more.
>
>
> ps Why is this statute rarely used when husbands threaten to kill  
> their ex-partners, with the police relying instead upon harassment  
> law.
>
> I don't know. Ask the CPS.
>
> I suspect because it is much harder to prove. The prosecution will  
> have to prove a specific intent that the victim fear that the threat  
> will be carried out (i.e. that someone will be killed). A defendant  
> might argue that he only meant the victim to fear they would be  
> beaten to a pulp.
>

Yup, the case in point requires proof of intent whereas harassment is  
a matter of fact (i.e. a strict liability offence), towhit:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/40/section/1

> Prohibition of harassment.
> (1)A person must not pursue a course of conduct—
> (a)which amounts to harassment of another, and
> (b)which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other.
> (2)For the purposes of this section, the person whose course of  
> conduct is in question ought to know that it amounts to harassment  
> of another if a reasonable person in possession of the same  
> information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment  
> of the other.

>

2Offence of harassment.

(1)A person who pursues a course of conduct in breach of section 1 is  
guilty of an offence.




No mention of intent.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/pipermail/ukcrypto/attachments/20130528/2db56ef3/attachment.html>