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225490
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2015-03-05more like thismore than 2015-03-05
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Ministry of Justice more like this
star this property answering dept id 54 more like this
star this property answering dept short name Justice more like this
star this property answering dept sort name Justice more like this
star this property hansard heading Restraining Orders more like this
unstar this property house id 1 more like this
star this property legislature
25259
star this property pref label House of Commons more like this
star this property question text To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many restraining orders were (a) issued by the courts, (b) breached and (c) resulted in the imposition of a penalty in each of the last five years. more like this
star this property tabling member constituency Richmond Park more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Zac Goldsmith more like this
unstar this property uin 226457 more like this
star this property answer
answer
star this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer remove maximum value filtermore like thisremove minimum value filter
star this property answer text <p>I am replying as the Ministry of Justice has overall responsibility for this legislation. The Government is absolutely clear that stalking and harassment, which cause misery for victims, are totally unacceptable. That is why in 2012 we added to the existing offences in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (harassment (section 2) and putting people in fear of violence (section 4)) two new specific offences of stalking (section 2A) and stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress (section 4A).</p><p> </p><p>The 1997 Act also gives the courts the option, upon conviction or acquittal for an offence under it, of making a restraining order for the purpose of protecting the victim of an offence, or any other person mentioned in the order, from conduct that amounts to harassment or that will cause fear of violence. Breach of such an order is a criminal offence carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison, or a fine, or both.</p><p> </p><p>The number of offenders convicted on one, two, or three or more occasions, in each of the last five years for which data is available, of breaching a restraining order can be viewed in the table below. These figures have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences. As with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing so data provided may be subject to revision.<br></p><p> </p><p /> <p> </p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><p><strong>Number of offenders breaching restraining orders<sup>1</sup>, England and Wales<sup>2</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Number of restraining order breach offences<sup>3</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>12 months ending September<sup>4</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3 or more</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>1,655</p></td><td><p>211</p></td><td><p>71</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2,738</p></td><td><p>456</p></td><td><p>138</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>3,638</p></td><td><p>607</p></td><td><p>216</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>4,086</p></td><td><p>710</p></td><td><p>221</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>4,822</p></td><td><p>767</p></td><td><p>244</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Data Source</strong>: MoJs copy of the Police National Computer</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><sup>1.</sup> Includes offences covered by:</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><p>- Breach of a restraining order under s5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><p>- Breach of restraining Order under s5A of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 (Sexual Offences Prevention Orders replaced restraining orders under s.5A Sex Offenders Act 1997. However, it is possible for cases to still appear where an offender is subject to one of the orders that pre-date the Sexual Offences Act 2003)</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><p>- Breach of a restraining order on acquittal under s.5A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p><sup>2.</sup> England and Wales includes all 43 police force areas and the British Transport Police</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><p><sup>3.</sup> Where the primary offence on a given occasion was a restraining order breach offence.</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><p><sup>4.</sup> The same offender may appear in multiple years.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p /> <p>The number of restraining orders issued and sentences given for breaches of restraining orders, from 2009 to 2013 (the latest available) in England and Wales, can be viewed in the table below. These figures are taken from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) court proceedings database.</p><p> </p><p /> <p><strong>Number of restraining orders issued and sentences given for breaches of restraining orders, England &amp; Wales, 2009 to 2013<sup>(1)(2)</sup></strong></p><p /> <p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2013</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Offenders issued with a restraining order<sup>(3)(4)(5)</sup></p></td><td><p>5,074</p></td><td><p>10,761</p></td><td><p>19,551</p></td><td><p>20,067</p></td><td><p>20,304</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Offenders convicted for breaching a restraining order</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Convicted</p></td><td><p>1,464</p></td><td><p>2,920</p></td><td><p>4,558</p></td><td><p>5,699</p></td><td><p>6,337</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sentenced</p></td><td><p>1,329</p></td><td><p>2,798</p></td><td><p>4,431</p></td><td><p>5,608</p></td><td><p>6,194</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Immediate custody</p></td><td><p>457</p></td><td><p>904</p></td><td><p>1,594</p></td><td><p>2,101</p></td><td><p>2,236</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Suspended sentence</p></td><td><p>178</p></td><td><p>381</p></td><td><p>507</p></td><td><p>667</p></td><td><p>822</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Community sentence</p></td><td><p>371</p></td><td><p>779</p></td><td><p>1,299</p></td><td><p>1,461</p></td><td><p>1,563</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fine</p></td><td><p>141</p></td><td><p>321</p></td><td><p>469</p></td><td><p>705</p></td><td><p>847</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Absolute discharge</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Conditional discharge</p></td><td><p>93</p></td><td><p>237</p></td><td><p>385</p></td><td><p>462</p></td><td><p>469</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Otherwise dealt with</p></td><td><p>84</p></td><td><p>161</p></td><td><p>158</p></td><td><p>184</p></td><td><p>217</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="6"><p>(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 found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6"><p>(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.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6"><p>(3) Includes restraining orders issued on conviction or acquittal.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>(4) Issued under either S.5 Protection from Harassment Act 1997 or S.5A Sex Offenders Act 1997.</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6"><p>(5) Sexual Offences Prevention Orders replaced restraining orders under s.5A Sex Offenders Act 1997 and Sex Offender Orders under s.2 Crime and Disorder Act 1998. However, it is possible for cases to still appear where an offender is subject to one of the orders that pre-date the Sexual Offences Act 2003.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PQ: 226457</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /> <p /> <p>Court proceedings data for 2014 are planned for publication in May 2015.</p><p> </p><p>Figures taken from the PNC database will differ from figures taken from the MoJ court proceedings database. Hence, police recorded crime and court proceedings data are not directly comparable.</p><p> </p><p>As the Violence Against Women and Girls Report (Home Office, 2015) notes: “Increases in reporting of domestic abuse incidents indicate that victims have more confidence in the criminal justice system. Prosecutions for domestic abuse have increased while out of court disposals for domestic abuse at the pre-charge stage have reached their lowest levels, and we have seen increases in the volume of prosecutions and conviction rate for all VAWG offences. These figures are showing that not only are victims more confident in coming forward – the criminal justice system is delivering improved outcomes for them.”</p>
star this property answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark more like this
star this property answering member printed Simon Hughes more like this
star this property grouped question UIN 226455 more like this
star this property question first answered
remove filter
star this property answering member
194
star this property label Biography information for Simon Hughes more like this
unstar this property tabling member
4062
unstar this property label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park more like this