Disturbing the peace is making annoying noise, like playing loud music, and can be considered disorderly conduct. Police must decide if it is disturbing many people or just one person. Charges can lead to fines or prison time. It is possible to sue people in court for disturbing the peace. Police may break up a party or cite homeowners. Violating peace makes it difficult for others to go about their business. Charges can lead to jail time and damage reputation and job chances.
Disturbing the peace tends to mean making some kind of noise that is annoying to most people. Examples of this might include playing extremely loud music, usually after 9 or 10pm, or running equipment that makes very loud noises. The allegation may fall under a group of allegations called disorderly conduct or it could be considered separately. Exactly how the charge is looked upon tends to depend on each jurisdiction, but in many of them it is a misdemeanor-level crime, subject to at least fines and perhaps prison time, although the latter is rare.
People have varying tolerance levels for noise, and police called in to deal with a disturbing peace case may need to decide whether one person’s conduct is really disturbing many people, or just disturbing one person who complained. This can make a difference in how and if charges are filed. When someone complains about another person’s repeated behavior that they find disturbing the peace, even if no arrests occur or charges are filed, it is sometimes possible to sue people in court. This can be costly and isn’t always winnable, particularly if the person carrying the charge has a very low tolerance for noise.
Also, many times if the police respond to allegations that someone is disturbing the peace, they won’t immediately sue the person. A loud party going on next door may not end up being accused of disturbing the piece. Alternatively, it could end with the police breaking up the party, asking everyone to leave and issuing a stark warning. Tolerance of this nature can be exhausted if the same people throw loud parties every weekend, and in such cases the police may consider citing the homeowners.
When someone disturbs the peace, they are violating not only the eardrums of others, but a concept dear to many societies. This is that people depend on a definition of peace or law and order, and when people go outside that definition, they make it difficult for others to go about their business peacefully. It is possible to get charged for swearing loudly in public because it offends some people and takes away their peace and comfort from being a part of society. These laws are really designed to promote good manners so that all people maintain a minimum of good behavior towards each other.
While the law is mostly about manners, it’s no joke to get charged with disturbing the peace. It can cost money, could result in jail time, and remains in most people’s criminal records. There is a real consequence to stepping out of these “public manners” laws and having to seek an arrest and a criminal charge, even if a felony, can damage your reputation and job chances.
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