Petition · past parliament
Amend the Harassment Act 1997 to stop criminalisation of those with disabilities
Closed
152 signatures
What the petition asks
The clauses that were inserted into the amended version of the act has resulted in individuals that lack social understanding/capacity due to a disability being criminalised under this law reform. The act states that a person ‘ought to know their actions amounted to harassment of another’.
Individuals with these types of conditions lack social understanding.
There needs to be an alternative to criminalising these individuals.
‘It costs £65,000 to process an individual through the criminal justice system. According to the Focus Prisoner Education website, ‘prisoners with health conditions cost more on top of that standard figure to accommodate in prison’ (Focus Prisoner Education, 2015, http://www.fpe.org.uk).
There needs to be an alternative to criminalising these individuals.
‘It costs £65,000 to process an individual through the criminal justice system. According to the Focus Prisoner Education website, ‘prisoners with health conditions cost more on top of that standard figure to accommodate in prison’ (Focus Prisoner Education, 2015, http://www.fpe.org.uk).
Timeline
| 21 Jul 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 21 Jan 2017 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
152
Status
Closed
Opened
21 Jul 2016
Closed
21 Jan 2017
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.