Under s.76 Serious Crime Act 2015, a person commits an offence by repeatedly or continuously engaging in behaviour towards another which is “controlling or coercive”. At the time of the behaviour, the parties must be “personally connected”. The offence requires that the behaviour has a “serious effect” on the other party and that the person knows or ought to know that would be the case. Theis is an either-way offence carrying a maximum of 5 years’ imprisonment in the Crown Court. A restraining order may be imposed on conviction. The defence of “reasonableness” in relation to the behaviour is available but there is a burden on the accused to establish that.
The term personally connected means that they are, or have been, married to each other or civil partners of each other, that they have agreed to marry one another or they have entered into a civil partnership agreement (whether or not the agreement has been terminated), they are, or have been, in an “intimate personal relationship” with each other, they each have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child or they are relatives. However a person does not commit an offence if the behaviour in question is used towards a child under 16 for whom they have parental responsibility.
The term serious effect means that it causes the other party to fear that violence will be used against him / her on at least two occasions or it causes serious alarm or distress which has a substantial adverse effect on that party’s usual day-to-day activities.
“Controlling or coercive behaviour” is NOT defined in the Act. This means that the Court hearing a case can determine whether the behaviour amounts to the kind prohibited by the Act with regard to the individual circumstances of the case. A Court need not be satisfied that every alleged element in a case is proved to the criminal standard in order to convict a person; they must however be satisfied that the Prosecution have proved to that standard that the accused has acted in breach of the section.
In the event of conviction, the Court will consider features such as the duration of the behaviour, the level of sophistication, the variety of methods used to effect the control of the other party and the level of fear or distress caused. Any effort made by the accused to prevent the reporting of an offence and the impact on others, particularly children, will be seen as aggravating features.
Legal disclaimer: Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein is accurate at the date of publication but please note that the law is ever changing and evolving. If you require advice in relation to any matter raised in this article please contact a member of the team.