Home Department written question – answered at on 1 December 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department
(1) what her assessment is of whether appropriate arrangements are in place with telecommunications operators to support police investigations into complaints, made from the recipients of unwelcome, nuisance or sexually suggestive and obscene telephone calls and text messages;
(2) what timeframe the police are expected to check telephone records from telecommunications providers as part of an investigation arising from complaints received from the recipients of unwelcome, nuisance or sexually suggestive and obscene telephone calls and text messages;
(3) (a) what steps her Department is taking and (b) what guidelines her Department issues to the police to ensure that complaints about (i) nuisance telephone calls and text messages and (ii) sexually suggestive and obscene telephone calls and text messages which are offensive to the recipient are investigated in a prompt manner.
While the Secretary of State for the Home Department has overall responsibility for ensuring the delivery of an efficient and effective police service in England and Wales and setting the national strategic direction of policing, Ministers have no role in operational policing decisions, which are for chief officers of each police force and their constables. The Home Office does not set central targets for police response times or assess support available during police investigations. Provisions to deal with harassment involving any form of data communication is also covered in the Association of Chief Police Officers' Practice Advice on Stalking and Harassment.
As part of the Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan, the Government launched a consultation on stalking on
The Home Office has been working with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Ministry of Justice and a number of stalking charities to ensure that best practice guidance is disseminated through a series of regional events. This kind of help and improved training can ensure that stalking behaviour is identified early and acted upon.
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No0 people think not
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