§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people made complaints to the police under the Protection from Harassment Act 1996, between September 1998 and the last month for which figures are available; how many of those complaints resulted in(a) a prosecution and 246W (b) a conviction; what were the sentencing outcomes under sections II and IV of the Act; and if he will make a statement. [99802]
§ Mr. StrawAvailable data from the Home Office Cautions and Court Proceedings Databases, covering the period from September 1998 to March 1999 inclusive, are given in the table. Provisional data for the second quarter of this year will not be available until December.
Number of persons cautioned or proceeded against under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 between September 1998 and March 19991 by offence and disposal Offence Offence of harassment2 Putting people in fear of violence3 Number of persons cautioned 558 105 Proceeded against in magistrates courts 2,919 888 All courts Found guilty 1,444 287 Sentenced 1,444 286 Absolute or conditional discharge 527 48 Fined 310 36 Community sentence 375 113 Immediate custody 156 74 Other 76 15 1Provisional data 2Section 2 3Section 4