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Criminal Harassment Lawyer Surrey & Metro Vancouver

Fight Your Criminal Harassment Charges

Common Charges

1. Criminal Harassment: 264.(1)
2. Cyber Harassment or Online Stalking

These offences tend to deal with persons that are repeatedly following a person, repeatedly communicating or watching the person, or where a person is harassed.

Legislative History

Criminal harassment itself is not new, but recognition of it as a distinct criminal behavior is recent under the Criminal Code RSC. Prior to 1993, persons who engaged in stalking conduct might have been charged with one or more of the following offences:

intimidation (section 423 of the Criminal Code)
uttering threats (section 264.1)
mischief (section 430)
indecent or harassing phone calls (section 372)
trespassing at night (section 177)
breach of recognizance Peace Bond Surety to Keep the Peace (section 811)

On August 1, 1993, the Criminal Code was amended to create the new offence of criminal harassment. It was introduced as a specific response to violence against women, particularly to domestic violence against women. However, the offence is not restricted to domestic violence and applies equally to all victims of criminal harassment.

The relevant sections of the Criminal Code have since been amended twice. Once, effective May 26, 1997, to make murder committed in the course of criminally harassing the victim a first degree murder offence, irrespective of whether it was planned and deliberate. It also made the commission of an offence of criminal harassment in the face of a protective court order an aggravating factor for sentencing purposes. And the second time, effective July 23, 2002, to double the maximum sentence for the offence of criminal harassment to 10 years’ imprisonment for an indictable offence.