Breaking the law in a public place
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If you break the law in a public place, this is called a street offence. Any place where a member of the public can be for free, like a street, in a shop, in some parking areas, is a public place. Private property where the owner has agreed to people coming in, or for which you pay a fee to enter and then you can wander around, is also a public place.
I'm in a public place and being a bit noisy. Am I breaking the law?
There are alot of things that you might think are just having a bit of fun but which are breaking the law. You are breaking the law if you are in a public place and you:
- are drunk
- beg
- commit a public nuisance offence. You can be doing this if you swear, threaten, or are just loud and what you are doing stops someone else, or could stop someone else, from moving through or peacefully being in that public place
- expose your genitals (urinating is enough for this)
If the police tell me to move on, do I have to?
If the way you are acting or just being somewhere is a problem, a police officer may order you to leave an area and not return within 24 hours. The police officer must tell you why you are being told to leave. As long as the police officer has the power to order you to leave, then if you don't leave you are breaking the law. It is probably better just to leave rather than to argue about whether the police officer has the power to order you to leave. If you argue, it is possible you will be breaking the law in another way by obstructing a police officer. So you could end up being charged with two offences not one.
You can get permission to have a meeting in a public place or a street march. But even if you have permission, if you do things like those listed above you may be breaking the law.
What about prostitutes who work on the streets?
There are laws which cover prostitutes and other sex workers and their clients. Prostitution in licensed brothels is legal in Queensland. Street prostitution is not legal. So you are breaking the law if you:
- publicly offer someone sex for money/money for sex
- accept the offer
- operate a brothel without having the proper licence
- enter or leave a brothel that is not properly licensed.