AIBU to believe that this is a crime? The police say no

Not necessarily. They could have been released pending further enquiries that could not have been completed during his time in custody

You aren’t getting the correct advice on here because we don’t know all the background facts and therefore we are having to extrapolate the facts, and depending how we do that leads to different results.

does person A have a genuine grievance with person B? Ie, person B has something belonging to person A and is not returning it? If so person B needs to take legal steps to get it returned, not contact person A directly.

Or is person A trying to intimidate person B by wanting them to change their evidence or as part of a custody agreement? That is harassment and as a PP said all you need is evidence of two forms of contact following a request for any contact to stop to be considered harassment.

What person A did in this circumstance is wrong and frightening but without further information we don’t know whether they were acting out of desperation. The police didn’t take it too seriously.

As another PP advised, ask for the case to be reviewed and ask if it can be held on record as constituting the first offence of harassment and that any further contact from person A would indeed constitute a criminal harassment charge been brought. Also ask if it qualifies for a non-molestation order to be issued.

good luck

Yes, but OP has now been told they're not going to prosecute.

I was thinking just this on another thread this morning about a mother whose controlling ex is still behaving appallingly towards her and their DC. Back in the day a simple warning to "behave or we'll send the boys around" would have mostly done the job - and saved police time! These days, of course, "the boys" would get into trouble and the original perpetrator would suffer few, if any, consequences. 😏

Yes if it happens again do the same thing. I suspect the hope is that the arrest etc is enough to stop him doing it again and he escaped with a warning that if he does it again it will go further

collect evidence now

If they've been released in bail then they have been charged with an offence. They will attend court at a later date.

I don't think you are wrong OP. As you wrote "it is more that they can’t take it further and actually prosecute" and this is the real problem. The police did all they could - including charging him with harassment - but the CPS make the decision to prosecute on the likelihood of success (must be at least 50:50) and they have obviously decided the odds aren't good enough. However, it's great that the police were involved and it got as far as it did because every incidence of harassment by Person B on Person A and their family members adds to the body of evidence for a future charge of harassment if Person A keeps up their appalling behaviour. Person A and their family need to make a police report every single time Person B oversteps the mark and harasses them.

Years ago, the sons or grandsons of Person B would have gone round to Person A and punched his lights out for the cowardly bully that he is.
It would be a crime that most police officers would ignore and he'd never again dare to upset either the elderly lady or her relative.

Can't do it these days, unfortunately.

Was the 80 year old in fear of a battery (I.e. that they would be physically attacked?). Feels like common assault if so?

Sadly there are lots of very real crimes that dont meet the threshold and get dropped. Many against women, such as violence or rape.

What he did would have been very upsetting for the elderly lady and I hope she is ok.
But if the crime doesnt have enough evidence ( or the guy could lie and come up with some reasonable sounding excuse to justify his behaviour “I suspected she was drunk so I removed the keys as kids were playing in the street nearby” or some nonsense) then he’d get off with the crime. So taking it to court would waste many hundreds of pounds, stress the lady annd her family, and get nowhere anyway. That’s why there is a threshold. Not because it wasn’t a crime but because nothing will happen if it got to court.

Sorry youre going through this.

So if I opened someone’s car door and removed their keys and then sat in my car and told the police when they arrived I was going to give the keys back then no crime would have been committed

Surely if a shoplifter gets caught does this mean there wasn’t a crime if they say they were going to give the goods back?

Surely this is theft

It.seems.clear to me.that person B trespassed and behaved in an intimidating way that was unacceptable.

It also seems to me.that the police acted suppprtively and appropriately but the matter did not meet the threshold.fkr a criminal prosecution. Hopefully what they have done will serve as a deterrent and has been noted in the even of an escalation or further incident.

Trespass is civil, harassing and being unpleasant can be criminal or civil.

I wonder if there is any merit in seeking the advice of a solicitor in relation to an injunction of some sort or at the very least a very strong cease and desist letter?

@powertoyourelbow I would regard someone driving onto my drive without permission very dimly but I believe it would be a civil breach. Could a lockable gate work/assist.

There’s a distinction between what’s morally ok, and what’s a crime.

There’s also a distinction between what had the potential to escalate into a crime, but was stopped before I got to that point, vs what’s a crime in itself.

It might help to keep those distinctions in mind.

Was it ok - no.
Was it reasonable to call the police - yes.
Was it a crime - no.

On the face of what you originally posted, it just looks like an argument to me, but your update may have changed my mind depending on the overall circs, so it is difficult for anyone to say really.

You can always ask for a Victim Right to Review (VRR) and the case will be looked at by a higher ranking officer to see whether that was the right thing to do.

Depending on who made the decision will depend on who you go to for the VRR though. Ie police or CPS?

I think the 80 year old needs cameras lots of cameras

If one is being harassed by another then the police should be called when the harasser comes into contact with the other person

For harassment there has to be a “course of conduct” ie at least two occasions.

There is no specific offence of intimidation. It would likely come under a public order offence but there would have to be specific points to prove which I am guessing couldn’t be met.

What was he arrested for?

Not a crime

If they had a legal right to it, the police would have overseen getting it back. There hasn't been a legal justification for this.