Legally, a riot is a disturbance of the peace by several
persons, assembled and acting with a common intent in executing a
lawful or unlawful enterprise in a violent and turbulent
manner.
Riot, rout, and unlawful assembly are related offenses, yet they
are separate and distinct. A rout differs from a riot in that the
persons involved do not actually execute their purpose but merely
move toward it. The degree of execution that converts a rout into a
riot is often difficult to determine.
An unlawful assembly transpires when persons convene for a purpose
that, if executed, would make them rioters, but who separate
without performing any act in furtherance of their purpose. For
example, when a restaurant owner refused to serve a certain four
customers and barred them from entering the establishment, the four
men remained in front of the doors of the restaurant and blocked
the entrance to all other customers. Although a riot did not result
from their actions, the men were arrested and convicted of unlawful
assembly.
At common law, an unlawful assembly is a gathering of at least
three persons whose conduct causes observers to reasonably fear
that a breach of the peace will result. (The Singapore Penal Code
defines an "unlawful assembly" as a group of five or more persons
with the common object of committing an offence.) When the meeting
is a furtherance of a criminal conspiracy, the participation of
only two persons will suffice to constitute the crime of unlawful
assembly.
An unlawful assembly becomes a rout when the participants take some
step to achieve their common purpose; e.g., if three men who have
assembled to commit arson proceed toward the building that they
intend to set on fire, they are guilty of a rout even if they never
reach their goal. There is a riot if violence actually results from
an unlawful assembly.
The common law rule, and most of the statutes that define riot,
require three or more persons to be involved. Some statutes fix the
minimum number at two.
Under English law, a riot is defined by the Public Order Act 1986
as twelve or more persons who "together use or threaten unlawful
violence for a common purpose and the conduct of them (taken
together) is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness
present at the scene to fear for his personal safety". This carries
the possibility of a fine and a sentence of up to ten years'
imprisonment.
There must be a common intent to riot. A previous agreement or
conspiracy to riot is not usually an element of a riot. A common
intent, however, to engage in an act of violence, combined with a
concert of action, is sometimes necessary. In one US case,
following a high school football game, a group of boys staged a
"violent, brutal and indecent" assault on the color guard and band
members of the visiting team. When the visitors attempted to leave,
the attacks continued. On trial, the attackers claimed that the
charge of riot did not apply to them because they had had no
"common intent." The court held that "an intent is a mental state
which can be inferred from conduct." They were found guilty of riot
and the decision was affirmed on appeal.[/i]
