Talk:Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986

Campaign for reform notable?
A campaign backed by some high-profile groups in the UK has just this week been started: http://reformsection5.org.uk/ It's been covered in a number of newspapers. Wondered if it should be included in this article. Wikiditm (talk) 13:05, 18 May 2012 (UTC)

'insulting' prohibition added or removed?
'The words "or abusive" were substituted for the words ", abusive or insulting", in both places they occurred,[1] on 1 February 2014.[2]'

Is this^ correct?

'  'Insulting words' crime ditched

14 January 2013

The crime of "insulting" someone through words or behaviour, which once led to the arrest of a student for asking a police officer whether his horse was gay, is to be dropped. Home Secretary Theresa May confirmed to MPs that the government would not seek to overturn a Lords amendment scrapping the ban.

The director of public prosecutions has said it will not hinder his work.

But Labour warned that it could remove protections for minority groups.

Section 5 of the 1986 Public Order Act currently means that "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour" might be deemed a criminal offence.' ~ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21020737 Beingsshepherd (talk) 15:18, 20 January 2017 (UTC)

Requested move 15 May 2018

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Page moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) --  Dane talk  05:52, 28 May 2018 (UTC)

Harassment, alarm or distress → Section 5 Public Order Act 1986 – I note that section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 is redirecting to this page. I have concerns about the current title of this page, ‘Harassment, Alarm or Distress.’. As the page correctly mentions it is a term used in various sections of the Public Order Act 1996. However, it is my feeling that the page title should be ‘Section 5’ of the Public Order Act 1986’. The rationale is as follows,

(1) The main topic in this page is s.5 of the Public Order Act 1986, a significant piece of public order legislation seemingly not covered elsewhere on Wikipedia. I argue the current page should only cover s5 of the Act.

(2)I suggest that a potential misunderstanding of the legal definition of ‘harassment, alarm or distress’. The article mentions that it is a significant term used in the Public Order Act 1986. However, the definition has a long history, for example, in the still partially enforceable Public Order Act 1936. The definition also appears in other legislation, particularly the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. If the page title remains, ‘Harassment, Alarm, or Distress’ it will need to refer to those acts to avoid readers becoming confused.

(3) Much academic discussion is involved in the definition ‘harassment, alarm, or distress’, particularly in relation to the introduction of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, despite that Act now largely being revoked. It is a key definition during debates about anti-social behaviour, and appears in possibly the most important piece of current anti-social legislation, the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Titling the page ‘Harassment, Alarm or Distress’ may confuse people as the text only discusses s5 of the Public Order Act 1986. Additionally, while I accept that wiki is not solely aimed at students, anti-social behaviour and legislation relating to it is often the topic of many criminology and criminal justice assignments for under-graduates, and in its current form the page is problematic.

My recommendation is that, (1) This page is moved, and re-created as s.5 Public Order Act 1986 (2) A page titled ‘Harassment, alarm, or distress’ should be reserved for discussion of the legal definition encompassing all the Acts that include it.The discussion on that page is likely to be multiple disciplined as the term impacts on so many areas of Government policy.

I welcome any comments and discussion about this suggested move. WPCW (talk) 13:50, 15 May 2018 (UTC) --Relisting. Sam Sailor 14:56, 22 May 2018 (UTC)

Survey

 * Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with  or  , then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's policy on article titles.


 * Support As proposed above WPCW (talk) 16:00, 23 May 2018 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.