Does s.4 still cover "insulting" words or behaviour?

Yes. s.4 retains "insulting" words or behaviour as one of the three limbs (threatening, abusive or insulting). This differs from s.5, where "insulting" was removed by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 s.57 with effect from 1 February 2014.

Is there a racially or religiously aggravated version of this offence?

Yes — s.31 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 creates a separate, either-way offence of racially or religiously aggravated fear or provocation of violence, with a maximum of 2 years' imprisonment on indictment. It is a distinct offence under a different Act, not covered by this card.

Fear or provocation of violence

The offence of fear or provocation of violence under s.4 Public Order Act 1986 — the statutory elements (points to prove) reproduced verbatim, mode of trial and maximum sentence, and the arrest power, for frontline officers.

Unofficial independent resource — always verify with official sources (College of Policing, your force, PFEW).

Reviewed by the BlueLineHub Editorial Team

Last reviewed: 28 August 2026 · Next review due: 28 February 2027

Reviewed by BlueLineHub Editorial

What are the points to prove for fear or provocation of violence under s.4 Public Order Act 1986?

s.4(1) is made out where a person uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards another, or distributes/displays threatening, abusive or insulting writing, a sign or other visible representation to another, with intent to cause that person to believe immediate unlawful violence will be used against them or another, or to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence, or whereby it is likely that such violence will be believed or provoked. The required mental element is at s.6(3).

It is summary only — the maximum is 6 months' imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (s.4(4)).

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Fear or provocation of violence is defined by s.4(1) Public Order Act 1986: using towards another person threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or distributing or displaying to another person any threatening, abusive or insulting writing, sign or other visible representation, with intent to cause that person to believe that immediate unlawful violence will be used, or to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence, or whereby it is likely that such violence will be believed or provoked. The required mental element is set out separately in s.6(3), reproduced verbatim below. It is educational reference, not a charging decision — verify against current law, CPS charging guidance and force policy.

Offence

s.4 Public Order Act 1986

Mode of trial

Summary only

Maximum sentence

6 months' imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (s.4(4)).

Points to prove — statutory elements

Reproduced verbatim from the Act as published on legislation.gov.uk. These are the statutory elements, not a paraphrase — confirm the up-to-date text and any amendments at the source.

s.4 — Fear or provocation of violence.the offence

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he—

(a) uses towards another person threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or

(b) distributes or displays to another person any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting,

with intent to cause that person to believe that immediate unlawful violence will be used against him or another by any person, or to provoke the immediate use of unlawful violence by that person or another, or whereby that person is likely to believe that such violence will be used or it is likely that such violence will be provoked.

(2) An offence under this section may be committed in a public or a private place, except that no offence is committed where the words or behaviour are used, or the writing, sign or other visible representation is distributed or displayed, by a person inside a dwelling and the other person is also inside that or another dwelling.

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.

Read s.4 on legislation.gov.uk

s.6 — Mental element: miscellaneous.mental element (s.6(3))

(1) A person is guilty of riot only if he intends to use violence or is aware that his conduct may be violent.

(2) A person is guilty of violent disorder or affray only if he intends to use or threaten violence or is aware that his conduct may be violent or threaten violence.

(3) A person is guilty of an offence under section 4 only if he intends his words or behaviour, or the writing, sign or other visible representation, to be threatening, abusive or insulting, or is aware that it may be threatening, abusive or insulting.

(4) A person is guilty of an offence under section 5 only if he intends his words or behaviour, or the writing, sign or other visible representation, to be threatening or abusive, or is aware that it may be threatening or abusive or (as the case may be) he intends his behaviour to be or is aware that it may be disorderly.

(5) For the purposes of this section a person whose awareness is impaired by intoxication shall be taken to be aware of that of which he would be aware if not intoxicated, unless he shows either that his intoxication was not self-induced or that it was caused solely by the taking or administration of a substance in the course of medical treatment.

(6) In subsection (5) “intoxication” means any intoxication, whether caused by drink, drugs or other means, or by a combination of means.

(7) Subsections (1) and (2) do not affect the determination for the purposes of riot or violent disorder of the number of persons who use or threaten violence.

Read s.6 on legislation.gov.uk

Powers of arrest & search

Arrest without warrants.24

A constable may arrest without warrant anyone whom they have reasonable grounds to suspect of committing fear or provocation of violence, where an arrest is necessary on one of the s.24(5) grounds (PACE 1984 s.24). There is no separate statutory power of arrest in the Public Order Act 1986 for this offence.

Code of Practice: PACE Code G — arrest →

CPS charging guidance

Verbatim extracts from the CPS charging guidance (Crown copyright, reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0). CPS revises this guidance — confirm against the live page and current law.

Section 4 - Fear or Provocation of ViolenceCPS charging guidance

Triable summarily

Maximum: 6 months’ custody

See Table below for the elements of this offence.

The following types of conduct are examples which may amount to section 4 threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour:

Threats made towards innocent bystanders or individuals carrying out public service duties;

The throwing of missiles by a person taking part in a demonstration or other public gathering where no injury is caused;

Scuffles or incidents of violence or threats of violence committed in the context of a brawl (such as in or in the vicinity of a public house);

Incidents which do not justify a charge of assault where an individual is picked on by a gang.

The unlawful violence feared/likely to be provoked, etc. must be “immediate” (R v Horseferry Road Magistrates’ Court [1991] 1 All E. R. 324: The publishers of a book (The Satanic Verses) had not committed any offence under section 4 as any violence provoked was too remote from the action of publishing the book to qualify as “immediate”.

Read on cps.gov.uk

Threatening behaviour — fear or provocation of violence (s.4) — Sentencing Council guideline Public Order

s.4 retains the word "insulting" in the words or behaviour it covers — contrast s.5 Public Order Act 1986, where "insulting" was removed by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 s.57 (in force 1 February 2014).
s.4(2) provides that no offence is committed where the words/behaviour are used, or the writing/sign displayed, by a person inside a dwelling and the other person is also inside that or another dwelling.
The level 5 fine at s.4(4) is now unlimited: s.85 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (in force 12 March 2015) removed the specified sum for level 5 on the standard scale from s.37 Criminal Justice Act 1982, so a fine "not exceeding level 5" is no longer capped at a fixed amount.
A racially or religiously aggravated version of this offence exists as a separate, either-way offence under s.31 Crime and Disorder Act 1998, carrying up to 2 years' imprisonment on indictment — it is not a Public Order Act 1986 offence and is not covered by this card.

Frequently asked

Is fear or provocation of violence triable either way?: No — s.4 Public Order Act 1986 is summary only. The maximum is 6 months' imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (s.4(4)).
Does s.4 still cover "insulting" words or behaviour?: Yes. s.4 retains "insulting" words or behaviour as one of the three limbs (threatening, abusive or insulting). This differs from s.5, where "insulting" was removed by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 s.57 with effect from 1 February 2014.
Is there a racially or religiously aggravated version of this offence?: Yes — s.31 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 creates a separate, either-way offence of racially or religiously aggravated fear or provocation of violence, with a maximum of 2 years' imprisonment on indictment. It is a distinct offence under a different Act, not covered by this card.