breach of the peace

English

Noun

breach of the peace (plural breaches of the peace)

1. (law) The legal offense of engaging in public behavior which is violent, rowdy, or disruptive.
   • 1823, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 32, in The Pioneers:

     [T]he sheriff turned his eyes again. . . . "What have we here?" he cried; "two men boxing! Has there been a breach of the peace?"

   • 1938 May 16, “Jamaica: Riot Act”, in Time:

     Short of high treason, the gravest form of breach of the peace known to British law is riot.

   • 2003 October 24, Aban Contractor et al., “Why a world leader used the servants' entrance”, in Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved 6 October 2012:

     Four men and a woman were arrested and charged with breaches of the peace after a series of scuffles in which protesters and police received minor injuries.

2. (by extension) Any public disturbance or disorderly behavior.
   • 1898, George Gissing, chapter 20, in The Town Traveller:

     Polly's suspicions were louder, her temper became uncertain; once or twice she forgot herself and used language calculated to cause a breach of the peace.

   • 1912, Irving Bacheller, chapter 14, in ‘Charge It’:

     Then, suddenly, the singing fell upon us and broke the silence into ruins. It was in the nature of a breach of the peace.

   • 2009 April 2, Jasper Gerard, “Bucolic Britain is stirring”, in The Telegraph, UK, retrieved 6 October 2012:

     My rural ride continues, and on a gloriously balmy day in Worth Matravers the only obvious sign of a breach of the peace is a flock of geese lolloping out of the pond, on to the lane.

Translations

legal offense

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: please add this translation if you can

  Mandarin: 破壞治安罪 / 破坏治安罪 (pòhuài zhì'ān zuì)

• Finnish: yleisen rauhan häiritseminen (no longer in Finnish law)
• French: trouble à l’ordre public (fr) m
• German: Landfriedensbruch m
• Hungarian: garázdaság (hu)
• Irish: briseadh síochána m
• Tagalog: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: tor heddwch m

any public disturbance or disorderly behavior

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 破壞社會安寧 / 破坏社会安宁 (po3 waai6 se5 wui6-2 on1 ning4)

  Mandarin: 破壞治安 / 破坏治安 (pòhuài zhì'ān)

• Finnish: häiritsevä käytös
• French: trouble à l’ordre public (fr) m
• German: Landfriedensbruch m
• Hungarian: rendzavarás (hu), rendbontás (hu), garázdaság (hu)
• Tagalog: panggugulo

See also

• disorderly conduct

References

• “breach of the peace”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.