Trespass is an area of law traditionally divided into three branches: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land. Trespass to the person covers acts that make someone fear an unlawful touching, an actual unpermitted contact, or an unlawful restraint of movement, while trespass to chattels covers wrongful interference with personal property without needing to prove damage. Trespass to land, wrongful interference with possession of real property, is the branch most commonly meant by the word today. Although trespass sits mainly in civil tort law, it also appears in criminal law, most often as an element of offenses such as burglary, and some countries treat trespass itself as a common law criminal offense.
Facts
Classification CodeTrespass to land is chiefly a civil tort rather than a standalone crime, functioning as an element within specific criminal offenses such as burglary, though England and Wales separately criminalizes an aggravated form under section 68 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. 2 Typical PenaltyAggravated trespass under section 68 is a summary offence carrying up to three months' imprisonment, a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or both. 3 Elements of OffenseUnder section 68 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, a person commits aggravated trespass by trespassing on land and, in relation to a lawful activity taking place there, doing something intended to intimidate participants into stopping, or to obstruct or disrupt that activity. 3 Notable ExamplePart V's aggravated trespass and related provisions have most notably been applied against forms of protest such as hunt sabotage and anti-road protests, turning conduct previously handled as civil trespass into a prosecutable criminal offense. 4 Jurisdiction VariationEngland and Wales converted certain forms of trespass, including mass gatherings, squatting and unauthorized encampments, from purely civil wrongs into criminal offenses under Part V of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, a jurisdiction-specific criminalization that most common law jurisdictions do not apply to trespass to land generally. 4 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. Cornell LII Wex: Trespass
Main definition paragraphQuote, Main definition paragraph
Trespass is knowingly entering another owners’ property or land without permission, which encroaches on the owners’ privacy or property interests.
2. Trespass (Wikipedia)
WikipediaTrespass to land section, criminal law sentenceQuote, Trespass to land section, criminal law sentence
In criminal law, trespass is often an element of offences such as burglary.
3. Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Section 68 (legislation.gov.uk)
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)Section 68(1)
A person commits the offence of aggravated trespass if he trespasses on land and, in relation to any lawful activity which persons are engaging in or are about to engage in on that or adjoining land, does there anything which is intended by him to have the effect, (a)of intimidating those persons or any of them so as to deter them or any of them from engaging in that activity, (b)of obstructing that activity, or (c)of disrupting that activity.
Section 68(3)
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or both.
View the Source 4. Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (Wikipedia)
WikipediaProvisions summary, Part V scope sentence
The whole of Part V covered collective trespass and nuisance on land and included sections against raves and further sections against disruptive trespass, squatters, and unauthorised campers, most significantly the criminalisation of previously civil offences.
Provisions summary, protest forms sentence
This affected many forms of protest including hunt sabotage and anti-road protests.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.