RIOT, the gravest kind of breach of the peace, short of treason, known to the English law. It consists in a tumultuous disturbance of the peace by an assemblage of three or more persons who, with intent to help one another against any one who opposes them in the execution of some enterprise, actually execute that enter prise in a violent and turbulent manner, to the terror of the peo ple. It is not necessary that violence should be used to any person or damage done to any property. Whether the enterprise itself is lawful or unlawful is not material, the gist of the offence lying in the mode in which the enterprise is carried out (Reg. v. Cun ningham, Grahame and Burns, 1888, 16 Cox. C.C. 420). Nor is it material whether the enterprise is of a private or a public nature, though in the latter case the rioters may also be guilty of sedition or treason. An assembly in its inception perfectly lawful may become a riot if the persons assembled proceed to form and execute a common purpose in the manner above stated, although they had no such purpose when they first assembled. Riot differs from "affray" in the number of persons necessary to constitute the offence, from an "unlawful assembly" in that actual tumult or violence is an essential element, and from "rout" which is an unlawful assembly that has moved towards the execution of a common purpose.
According to the decisions in Field v. Receiver of Metropoli tan Police (19o7 2. K.B. 853) and Ford v. Receiver of Metropoli tan Police (1921 2 K.B. 344) five elements are necessary to constitute a riot :—(i) the presence of three persons at least; (2) a common purpose ; (3) the execution or inception of the common purpose; (4) an intent to help one another by force if necessary against any person who may oppose them in the execution of their common purpose ; (5) force or violence not merely used in demolishing, but displayed in such a manner as to alarm at least one person of reasonable firmness and courage.
It is an indictable misdemeanor at common law, but the Riot Act (1714), creates certain statutory offences for riot attended by circumstances of aggravation. That act makes it the duty of a justice, sheriff, mayor or other authority, wherever 12 persons or more are unlawfully, riotously and tumultuously assembled together, to the disturbance of the public peace, to resort to the place of such assembly and read the following proclamation: "Our Sovereign Lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons being assembled immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations or to their lawful busi ness, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George for preventing tumultuous and riotous assemblies.
God save the King." It is a felony to obstruct the reading of the proclamation or to remain or continue together unlawfully, riot ously and tumultuously for one hour after the proclamation was made or for one hour after it would have been made but for being hindered. The act requires the justices to seize and appre hend all persons continuing after the hour, and indemnifies them and those who act under their authority from liability for in juries caused thereby. The punishment for the felony is penal servitude for life.
By s. 11 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861 (which is a re enactment of a similar provision made in 1827 in consequence of the frame-breaking riots), it is a felony for persons riotously and tumultuously assembled together to the disturbance of the public peace to unlawfully and with force demolish or begin to demolish or pull down or destroy any building, public building, machinery or mining plant. The punishment is the same as for a felony under the Riot Act. By s. 12 it is a misdemeanour to injure or damage such building, etc. The punishment is penal servitude for seven years, or imprisonment as in the case of the two felonies above described. Under the Shipping Offences Act (1793) a riotous assemblage of three or more seamen, ship's carpenters and other persons, unlawfully and with force pre venting and hindering or obstructing the loading or unloading or the sailing or navigation of any vessel, or unlawfully and with force boarding any vessel with intent to prevent, etc., is punish able on a first conviction as a misdemeanour by imprisonment for 12 months, and on a second conviction as a felony by penal servitude for 14 years.