PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Stalking (17 June 2014)

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) prosecuted for, (b) convicted of, (c) cautioned for and (d) given a non-custodial sentence for each of the stalking offences in Sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in 2013.

Asked by:
Emily Thornberry (Labour)

The number of offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts under Sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2013 (the latest data available), can be viewed in the table. These offences came into force in November 2012.

Offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates' court, found guilty and sentenced at all courts for 'stalking' offences, England and Wales, 2012 to 2013 (1)(2)(3)
Statute	Offence		2012	2013
Protection from Harassment Act 1997, S.2A	Pursue course of conduct in breach of S.1(1) which amounts to stalking.	Cautions	-	32
		Proceeded against	8	293
		Found guilty	2	196
		Sentenced	2	192
		of which
		Absolute discharge	-	-
		Conditional discharge	1	16
		Fine	1	15
		Community sentence	-	80
		Suspended sentence	-	41
		Immediate custody	-	35
		Otherwise dealt with (4)	-	5
Protection from Harassment Act 1997, S.4A	Stalking involving fear of violence and involving serious alarm/distress	Cautions	-	7
		Proceeded against	-	154
		Found guilty	-	53
		Sentenced	-	42
		of which
		Absolute discharge	-	-
		Conditional discharge	-	2
		Fine	-	-
		Community sentence	-	10
		Suspended sentence	-	14
		Immediate custody	-	14
		Otherwise dealt with	-	2
'-' = Nil
(1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for or found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
(3) The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown Court, may be sentenced in the following year.
(4) The category Otherwise Dealt With (ODW) includes: one day in police cells; disqualification order; restraining order; confiscation order; travel restriction order; disqualification from driving; recommendation for deportation; and other miscellaneous disposals.
NB Offences introduced 25 November 2012
Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.
Ref: PQs 201066

Answered by:
Sir Jeremy Wright (Conservative)
24 June 2014