Stalking is a form of abuse which can escalate to other very serious forms of offending. It is important that we treat stalking with the seriousness that it deserves.

NOMS have staff trained to assess the risks presented by this group of offenders, and to identify the best options for intervention and support. Those imprisoned specifically for stalking offences can have a range of different intervention or treatment needs, which can often be addressed by existing offending behaviour interventions. Staff managing the shorter sentenced harassment cases can also access community based support and intervention. Prison Service professionals can provide advice on risk management to offender managers and Multi Agency Public Protection panels on request.

Health services are available to prisoners with clinical needs from primary care services, secondary mental health in-reach services or through transfer to psychiatric hospitals under the Mental Health legislation.

The Government recognises that stalking is an insidious crime that can have a devastating impact on the lives of victims and their families. That is why the coalition Government created specific stalking offences in 2012 and why we continue to look at ways to protect victims of stalking, ensure stalking is recognised early and dealt with effectively and, where an offender is convicted, provide the courts with appropriate sentencing powers.

The number of offenders sentenced at all courts, with sentencing outcomes and custody rate, for stalking offences, in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2014, can be viewed at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

The published information includes small numbers of prosecutions and convictions for this offence before the offence was introduced. This is due to an error in data collection and should be ignored. Also, please note that 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.

The number of offenders sentenced at all courts in England and Wales for stalking offences specifically under Section 2A and Section 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, with the number of offenders sentenced to the maximum custodial sentences permissible, from 2012 to 2014, can be viewed in Table 1.

Specific details of individual prison sentences, such as whether they included a therapeutic component, and information regarding the location in which an offence occurs in (i.e. in a domestic setting or otherwise) are not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The number of offenders sentenced at all courts, with sentencing outcomes and custody rate, for stalking offences, in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2014, can be viewed at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

The published information includes small numbers of prosecutions and convictions for this offence before the offence was introduced. This is due to an error in data collection and should be ignored. Also, please note that 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.

The number of offenders sentenced at all courts in England and Wales for stalking offences specifically under Section 2A and Section 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, with the number of offenders sentenced to the maximum custodial sentences permissible, from 2012 to 2014, can be viewed in Table 1.

Specific details of individual prison sentences, such as whether they included a therapeutic component, and information regarding the location in which an offence occurs in (i.e. in a domestic setting or otherwise) are not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The number of offenders sentenced at all courts, with sentencing outcomes and custody rate, for stalking offences, in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2014, can be viewed at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

The published information includes small numbers of prosecutions and convictions for this offence before the offence was introduced. This is due to an error in data collection and should be ignored. Also, please note that 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.

The number of offenders sentenced at all courts in England and Wales for stalking offences specifically under Section 2A and Section 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, with the number of offenders sentenced to the maximum custodial sentences permissible, from 2012 to 2014, can be viewed in Table 1.

Specific details of individual prison sentences, such as whether they included a therapeutic component, and information regarding the location in which an offence occurs in (i.e. in a domestic setting or otherwise) are not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Government recognises that stalking is an insidious crime that can have a devastating impact on the lives of victims and their families. That is why the coalition Government created specific stalking offences in 2012 and why we continue to look at ways to protect victims of stalking, ensure stalking is recognised early and dealt with effectively and, where an offender is convicted, provide the courts with appropriate sentencing powers.

Stalking is a deeply disturbing crime which can leave its victims living in fear for years. That is why we introduced new legislation in 2012 which made stalking an offence in its own right.

To mark National Stalking Awareness Week, we are using Twitter to raise awareness of the increases in prosecutions and convictions for these crimes to help improve victim confidence in the criminal justice system.

The Government has committed £80 million to support victims of violence against women and girls, including, stalking, between 2016 and 2020. This includes funding for the National Stalking Helpline run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. Additionally, we have consulted on the introduction of a new civil Stalking Protection Order to tackle perpetrators at an early stage to help prevent victims becoming targets of a prolonged campaign of abuse. Our response to this consultation will be published in due course. Through the Police Innovation Fund, we are supporting the police to identify ways to manage the significant volume of online material in abuse, harassment and stalking cases, so that evidence can be collected more easily and a strong case built to bring a prosecution.

Stalking is a deeply disturbing crime which can leave its victims living in fear for years. That is why we introduced new legislation in 2012 which made stalking an offence in its own right.

The latest published figures on stalking show that this legislation is taking effect. In 2014-15, over 1,100 prosecutions were commenced under the new offences, a rise of nearly 50% from the previous year. The number of referrals by the police to the CPS, the number of convictions and the number of custodial sentences have also risen. However, legislation is not always enough and we are determined to provide all victims of stalking with the protection and support that they need.

The Home Office is currently considering the results of a public consultation on the possible introduction of a Stalking Protection Order aimed at providing immediate and earlier protection for victims.

We welcome National Stalking Awareness Week and the opportunity to bring attention to these crimes. As part of the dedicated funding to tackle violence against women and girls we provide support to the Suzy Lamplugh Trust for its National Stalking Helpline.

Stalking is a deeply disturbing crime which can leave its victims living in fear for years. That is why we introduced new legislation in 2012 which made stalking an offence in its own right.

The latest published figures on stalking show that this legislation is taking effect. In 2014-15, over 1,100 prosecutions were commenced under the new offences, a nearly 50% rise from the previous year. The number of referrals by the police to the CPS, the number of convictions and the number of custodial sentences have also risen.

However, legislation alone is not enough and we are determined to provide all victims of stalking with the protection and support that they need. As part of the dedicated funding to tackle violence against women and girls we provide support to the Suzy Lamplugh Trust for its National Stalking Helpline to provide support and advice to victims.

The Home Office is currently considering the results of a public consultation on the possible introduction of a Stalking Protection Order aimed at providing immediate and earlier protection for victims. Through the Police Innovation Fund, we are supporting the police to identify ways to manage the significant volume of online material in abuse, harassment and stalking cases, so that evidence can be collected more easily and a strong case built to bring a prosecution.

The Government has committed £80 million to support victims of violence against women and girls, including, stalking, between 2016 and 2020. This includes funding for the National Stalking Helpline run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

We have strengthened the law by introducing new offences of stalking in 2012. In 2014-15, there were 1,103 prosecutions commenced under the new stalking offences, an increase of 50% over the previous year (2013-14).

To mark National Stalking Awareness Week, we are raising awareness of the increases in prosecutions and convictions for these crimes to help improve victim confidence in the criminal justice system.

Additionally, we have consulted on the introduction of a new civil Stalking Protection Order to tackle perpetrators at an early stage to help prevent victims becoming targets of a prolonged campaign of abuse. Our response to this consultation will be published in due course. Through the Police Innovation Fund, we are supporting the police to identify ways to manage the significant volume of online material in abuse, harassment and stalking cases, so that evidence can be collected more easily and a strong case built to bring a prosecution.