Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill

Lord Berkeley of Knighton Excerpts

Wednesday 8th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Faulks]

The objection is that there is a risk that the hurdle will be too high and that the judge will say, “This is extremely anti-social behaviour and I profoundly sympathise with the individual but, looked at under the definition of harassment, it does not go quite that far”. That behaviour could be completely ruinous of an individual’s life, but perhaps not have that quasi-criminal description that the substitute definition has.

[Lord Berkeley of Knighton (CB)]

Would “distress” not cover that?

[Lord Faulks]

The greater test will always include the lesser, but areas that may or may not be considered by a court to get over that hurdle may be profoundly distressing in the non-technical sense to the individual but may not be regarded as sufficiently distressing to come within the definition. There is inevitably a degree of vagueness about any definition, whether you choose the one that the Government choose or the one proposed in the amendment. But I fear that the test is too low.