Public Order Act 1986, s 5(1)

Threatening/Abusive Words/Behaviour

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

What the law says

A person is guilty of an offence if he—(a) uses threatening or abusive words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or (b) displays any writing sign or other visible representation which is threatening or abusive, within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.

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

Points to prove

  • 1. used threatening/abusive words/behaviour or disorderly behaviour OR
  • 2. displayed writing/sign/visible representation
  • 3. which was threatening or abusive
  • 4. within hearing/sight of a person
  • 5. likely to be caused harassment/alarm/distress
  • 6. intending that those words/that behaviour etc was threatening; OR
  • 7. being aware that such words/behaviour/writing/sign, etc
  • 8. was likely to have that effect

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

Summary — Summary: 6 months

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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