Senior judge urges tougher line on harassment

Monday 06 February 2017

A former Bailiff has urged the Magistrate's Court to jail people found guilty of serious harassment, citing the "immense distress" it can have on victims’ lives.

Sir Michael Birt's comments come in a recently published written judgement in relation to a case he heard late last year.

He says: “Harassment can cause immense distress to the victims; it can play on their minds and really cause damage to their lives...Victims need to feel that if the matter comes before the Court, they will have the Court’s support. So we think that the Magistrate’s Court should think very carefully before imposing a non-custodial sentence in cases of any gravity.

His comments relate to the case of a man who admitted that in a space of less than three months he made more than 20 abusive and threatening phone calls to the owners of a small plot of land in town, which they were renting out as a car park. He also admitted to blocking off the site with a chain, and on another occasion dumping a pile of chippings in the space to try and stop people parking there. The court was told that “on both occasions the defendant was present, smirking and intimidating the victim."

As Sir Michael put it: “...what you did caused great distress and upset to the victims of your harassment and we hope that you appreciate that. You got it into your head that they were not entitled to charge for the use of this car parking space and you then began a campaign of harassment… If it were not for your mental condition which has been diagnosed since then we would, without hesitation, have sent you to prison.”

Psychiatric reports showed the defendant was suffering from a manic episode as a result of his mental health condition of Bipolar Disorder Type 1. The court also noted he had been taking a lot of illegal substances.

Although the court seriously considered sending the defendant to prison, in the light of the medical evidence, it sentenced him to nine months’ probation and issued a restraining order.

During the hearing it emerged the Magistrate’s Court had dealt with many cases that were more serious than this and that the defendants hadn’t been sent to prison.

In his judgment, Sir Michael says he he didn’t know the details of those cases, but he believes harassment is a serious issue and that sentencing should reflect that.