Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been charged under (a) section 2A and (b) section 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in each police force in England and Wales since those sections came into force.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of people charged and prosecuted, however it is not possible to identify the numbers of individuals prosecuted for offences charged under specific pieces of legislation.

Figures are only held for the number of offences charged under sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in cases finalised by the CPS. It is not possible to identify the number of currently active proceedings in the courts involving charges under any specific pieces of legislation.

The CPS maintains a central record of the number of offences charged, not defendants prosecuted, under sections 2A and 4A of the 1997 Act. A single defendant may be prosecuted for multiple offences.

The attached tables detail the number of offences charged under S.4A(1)(a)(b)(i) and S.4A(1)(a)(b)(ii) by each police force in England and Wales, and the number of offences charged under 2A(1) of the 1997 Act by each police force in England and Wales.