Which section of the Public Order Act 1986 makes it an offence to use threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour with the intention to cause fear or provoke another person?

• A. S5 Public Order Act 1986
• B. S4 Public Order Act 1986
• C. S4A Public Order Act 1986
• D. S3 Public Order Act 1986

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is how intent changes which offence applies. There are offences in public order law that look at what the person meant (their mens rea) versus offences that look only at what happened (the impact).

If someone uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the specific aim of making another person fear for their safety or to provoke them, that is a targeted act tied to an intention to cause fear or provoke. That intentional threshold is what distinguishes this offence from others. The provision that matches this scenario requires proving that intent.

In contrast, offences that do not require such intent focus on whether the conduct was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to another person, regardless of what the offender intended. So, while it’s enough to show the behaviour was threatening, abusive or insulting and likely to distress someone, there’s no need to prove an intent to fear or provoke.

So, the correct concept is to identify the offence defined by the presence of that specific intention to cause fear or provoke, rather than simply causing distress or using threatening language. The result is a higher threshold requiring proof of mens rea, distinguishing it from the broader offense that covers upsetting others without proving intent.