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Legal Eagle

The Public

Q: Public decency

My street act might be vulgar but it wouldn't have made Chaucer blush. However, there always seems to be some busybody watching purely in order to be shocked. They always "know their rights" (or claim they do), so I should like to know, what mine are?

A: I doubt whether anything would have made Chaucer blush. Remember The Miller's Tale?

There are a number of possible criminal offences which may be relevant here. For example, it is an offence to commit in public an act of such a lewd, obscene or disgusting nature as to amount to an outrage to public decency. It does not matter whether or not it tends to deprave or corrupt those who see it. If more than one person might have seen the act complained of, that is sufficient to amount to the act having been committed "in public." Examples of acts which have been held to be within the scope of the offence are nudity and simulated sexual intercourse, although the offence is not limited to acts involving a sexual element.

There is a separate offence of indecent exposure with intent to insult a female, and it is also an offence to "display" any indecent matter in public, but that does not include a human body or any part of it.

If your 'street act' falls within the definition of a 'play', namely a dramatic piece, whether improvised or not, in which what is done (whether by speech, singing or acting) involves the playing of a role, you could be charged with the separate offence of performing an obscene play.

You could also be charged with blasphemy if your act contains contemptuous, reviling, scurrilous or ludicrous matter relating to God, Jesus Christ or the Bible.

Without knowing the nature and context of the vulgarity to which you refer, it is impossible to advise one way or the other as to whether you are crossing the borderline or not, but if you are in any doubt about the matter it is better to be safe rather than sorry, since all the offences to which I have referred are punishable by a fine or imprisonment or both, although a custodial sentence is unlikely for a first offence of a not very serious nature.

You obviously run the risk of a member of the public (perhaps one who is unduly sensitive) complaining to the police, who would then have an obligation to look into the matter. So beware!

First published August 1996