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Harassment Charges in Alberta Explained
What is criminal harassment?
Criminal harassment is committed when a person carries out any of the following:
- repeatedly following from place to place the other person or anyone known to them;
- repeatedly communicating with, either directly or indirectly, the other person or anyone known to them;
- besetting or watching the dwelling-house, or place where the other person, or anyone known to them, resides, works, carries on business or happens to be; or
- engaging in threatening conduct directed at the other person or any member of their family.
Some common language examples of harassment include but are not limited to the following:
- Attending a residence, parking lot, or street of the complainant,
- Loitering near their home, place of work, or school, etc.,
- Repeated social media contact, phone calls or text messages;
- Following the person around,
- Or generally, any form of contact that causes the person to reasonably fear for their safety.
Criminal harassment charges can be classified as both domestic and non-domestic. It is common to see additional charges laid along with criminal harassment, these typically include charges of uttering threats, assault, and mischief.
Criminal harassment and the typical charges that arise in this context are considered serious and typically include what is known as an aggravating factor because of the planned and repeated nature of the accused’s conduct.
How can harassment charges be dismissed?
It is critical to have a skilled and capable criminal lawyer coordinating and building a defence. One compelling defence is to persuade the trial judge or in some cases the prosecutor that the complainant’s fear was unreasonable in the circumstances. In order for this defence to be successful, it will be important for your lawyer to understand the nature of this relationship, the issue in context and to have evidence of historical communication. Your lawyer will use this material to build a defence which will demonstrate there was no basis on which the complainant can claim the behaviour was threatening.
Another compelling defence argument may be that the accused did not have the mental intent that is required to commit the offence. This involves an objective-subjective analysis of the admissible evidence. Additionally, it is critical that your defence lawyer analyze whether or not the prosecution can prove the mental intent via recklessness or willful blindness.
Sometimes your defence lawyer can persuade the prosecutor to agree to a peace bond. Peace bonds are court orders which require specific conditions to be adhered to and requires a monetary pledge. Typical conditions of a peace bond include staying away from the complainant, not contacting the complainant in any manner, and sometimes require that you attend for counselling and or treatment. Disobeying any condition of a peace bond will result in a separate criminal charge. If a peace bond is executed, it means the criminal harassment charge is dismissed.
Attending and completing a diversion program is another way to ensure the criminal charge or charges get dropped. The most applicable program for a criminal harassment charge is usually Mental Health Diversion. Other programs may also be possible, it is critical your lawyer is update on the newest initiatives that are being offered as well it is vital that your lawyer is diligent in seeking any creative way possible to get your criminal harassment charge dismissed.
Arguing for and being successful at obtaining a conditional discharge is another way to ensure that the accused person does not get a criminal record as a result of the prosecution. If your lawyer argues and is successful at obtaining a conditional discharge, conditions will attach to a court order which will require the accused to abide by specified conditions for a set period of time. If the accused is successful, the conditional discharge results in an absolute discharge which means after a period of time nothing will be reflected on the accused’s record.
It is important to understand that due to the violent and repeated nature of these types of offences, it is not easy to achieve resolutions that do not result in criminal records. If you get charged with this criminal offence, we urge you to contact an experienced and well-practiced criminal defence lawyer as quickly as possible. Building a defence strategy at the earliest possibility allows your lawyer to the flexibility to change directions and to identify weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case. This ability will strengthen your lawyer’s ability to argue or persuade the prosecutor to drop or dismiss your case.
How long does harassment stay on your criminal record?
The short answer is that it depends on what happened. If you were convicted without obtaining a discharge, then it remains on your criminal record until you seek a Record Suspension (formally called a Pardon). If your stellar and smart criminal defence lawyer obtained a discharge, then it will stay on your record for a period of time (typically three years) while you complete the process. It is important to note that a letter must be written to ask for the records to be destroyed.