Common law

Outraging public decency

The statutory wording, points to prove, defences and penalty — verified against legislation.gov.uk (current revised versions, July 2026).

What the law says

It is an offence to commit an act of a lewd, obscene, or disgusting nature, which is capable of outraging public decency, in a public place where at least two members of the public who were actually present at the time could have witnessed it, even if they had not actually seen it.

CJS codes
Official CJS offence index (March 2026)
—Charged under the specific underlying offence code.

Points to prove

  • 1. in a public place
  • 2. committed an act capable of being seen by two or more persons
  • 3. of a lewd/obscene/disgusting nature thereby outraging public decency
  • 4. by behaving in an indecent manner

Defences

  • No specific standalone defence was extracted from the source text; consider any applicable statutory defence, reasonable excuse, lawful authority, self-defence, necessity, consent, identification challenge, or other common-law defence on the facts.

Mode of trial & maximum penalty

Either way — Summary: 6 months' imprisonment and/or a fine; Indictment: Imprisonment and/or a fine

Reference only — verify against current legislation and force policy before charge. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Sources

  • Verified dataset — legislation.gov.uk (current revised versions)

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