§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons have been prosecuted under sections 1 or 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; and how many prosecutions have resulted in a conviction; [46229]
(2) how many complaints have been received by the police in respect of section 1 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997; and if he will make a statement. [46231]
§ Mr. MichaelSections 1 and 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 came into force on 16 June 1997. Section 1 refers to the prohibition of harassment with section 2 advising that a person who pursues a course of conduct in breach of section 1 is guilty of a summary offence.
Provisional court proceedings data for 1997 show 504 prosecutions under section 2 of the Act, which resulted in 247 convictions. In addition, 171 cautions have been recorded provisionally for the offence.
298WFigures for complaints received by the police in respect of this Act are not collected centrally. However, the British crime survey is collecting information on levels of harassment reported by respondents.