§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department is conducting in respect of nuisance calls. [34620]
§ Mr. DenhamInformation on nuisance calls derived from the British Crime Survey (BCS) was published in Home Office Research and Planning Unit paper no. 84 "Obscene, threatening and other troublesome telephone calls to Women in England and Wales: 1982–1992". Results from the 1982 and 1992 sweeps of the BCS indicated that 8 per cent. and 7 per cent. of women aged 16 or over had suffered from one or more obscene call in the course of 1981 and 1991 respectively. This information was derived from special questions included in the BCS for those years.
In 1998 the BCS included a computerised self-completion questionnaire on stalking. Respondents who said that they had suffered such unwanted attention 336W and were also asked whether they had received silent phone calls from the person involved and whether they had received obscene phone calls. Findings of this analysis were published in a Home Office Research Study 210, "The extent and nature of stalking: findings from the 1998 British Crime Survey" which has been deposited in the Library.
A recent study which examined 167 protection from harassment cases provides further information though recorded accounts about the characteristics of each case and how it was processed through the Criminal Justice System. The study identified several different types of behaviours which constituted harassment, including making obscene and silent telephone calls. Findings of this analysis were published in a Home Office Research Study 203, "An evaluation of the use and effectiveness of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997" which has been deposited in the Library.
The BCS 2002 questionnaire asks respondents who use a mobile phone whether they have received in the last 12 months voice or text messages on their mobile phone which they consider offensive, or harassment.