Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

Public Order Offence for saying words deemed offensive?

62 replies

NancyDrawed · 08/05/2023 16:32

I am not familiar with the complexities of law and the spoken word, but I do remember Justice Julian Knowles saying that we don't have the right to be offended in one of the Harry Miller cases regarding Non Crime Hate Incidents. So if police forces can no longer use NCHIs to stifle freedom of speech / belief / opinion it appears that Public Order Offence is something else they are going to try to use.

I cannot believe that the Police have called this vulnerable woman in for an interview - twitter thread below

https://twitter.com/BretteDutton/status/1655361519830401024

https://twitter.com/BretteDutton/status/1655361519830401024

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Shelefttheweb · 08/05/2023 16:51

What arrangements have the police made to assess their fitness to be interviewed? Any?

Whataninsight · 08/05/2023 16:48

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

AutumnCrow · 08/05/2023 16:46

There is too much opacity developing in 'police procedures' around alleged wrong-think and its 'investigation'.

The PCCs need to be on top of this. They represent the public and are there to hold the Chief Constables to account on behalf on their county constituents - all of them.

Shelefttheweb · 08/05/2023 16:46

Whataninsight · 08/05/2023 16:42

You are putting a lot of faith in what the patient said she said. Hardly the most objective of people

You mean the patient who made the complaint? The one apparently shouting that JKR was evil?

Whataninsight · 08/05/2023 16:46

SummerLakes · 08/05/2023 16:45

Surely it was Derbyshire, UK (going on the address in the letter…)

Show quote history

Brette Dutton is in the US posting on behalf of her Uk friend

Whataninsight · 08/05/2023 16:46

This Brette Dutton, in the US

is posting about her UK friend

and her UK friend whilst in a psychiatric hospital said she didn’t do something that has been reported to police

a) the police have a duty to make enquiries
b) your source is not exactly… concrete

SummerLakes · 08/05/2023 16:45

Whataninsight · 08/05/2023 16:44

This is in the US OP

Surely it was Derbyshire, UK (going on the address in the letter…)

Whataninsight · 08/05/2023 16:44

This is in the US OP

Shelefttheweb · 08/05/2023 16:43

This must be placed into the hands of a solicitor. Apart from the fact they you are allowed to offend people, this took place in a psychiatric ward so that raises questions of mental capacity at the time. At minimum this lady should surely be considered a vulnerable person and be provided with an appropriated adult (who should make sure she has a solicitor). I am not even sure if the police can insist on mandatory interviews without arresting someone.

Whataninsight · 08/05/2023 16:42

You are putting a lot of faith in what the patient said she said. Hardly the most objective of people

DemiColon · 08/05/2023 16:41

If these work the way I think they are supposed to, they make make sense when used properly. Someone going out in a public place, shouting crude things and causing a ruckus that makes the space largely unusable for others, being an example.

But you always need a robust sense among the police (and others) about what that kind of inappropriate public behaviour does and does not include. And really with other laws too, so much of how they are understood comes down to social norms.

If, as some argue, we no longer educate kids to grow up to be democratic citizens, then I guess it's to be expected that our public institutions become undemocratic too.