Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing new policies to help improve protection for people at risk of domestic homicide in all regions.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
In the 2022 Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan the government outlined a package of measures to reduce domestic homicides and reform the Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) process.
DHRs are reviews into deaths related to domestic abuse which seek to identify what lessons can be learnt and implemented to prevent future deaths.
In June 2023, we launched the online DHR Library to help ensure police and partners have easy access to material to learn from previous homicides and prevent future deaths linked to domestic abuse.
The implementation of reforms to DHRs will improve our understanding and drive down the frequency of domestic homicides.
The Home Office also funds the collection of data on deaths related to domestic abuse through the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Domestic Homicide Project. The project brings together data and information on prior agency knowledge of victims and risk factors to improve the evidence base and subsequent policy responses for preventing domestic homicides.
To gain protection from domestic abuse a protective order can be applied for. Police can apply for a Domestic Violence Protection Order, victims can apply for a Non-Molestation Order and criminal courts can impose a Restraining Order on acquittal or conviction of a criminal offence. The introduction of the new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Order, will help simplify and strengthen the protection for victims avaliable, introducing new features like mandatory notification requirements and electronic monitoring (“tagging”). The new order will be piloted in Greater Manchester, the London Boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, and Bromley, and with the British Transport Police.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the problem of criminal gangs intentionally crossing police force borders to exploit weaknesses in policing methods.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We know serious and organised crime (SOC) does not respect police force borders which is why all police forces in England and Wales collaborate and share resources, funding and specialist capabilities to deliver Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) to lead complex cross-border SOC investigations. There are nine ROCUs in England and Wales with equivalent capability in London.
Alongside approximately £70m in direct funding from the Home Office in 2023/24, Chief Constables, PCCs and Mayors with PCC functions have recently provided significant resource to the ROCU network by allocating 725 extra officers to ROCUs between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023. Those officers are working in partnership now to tackle drugs supply and enablers, including firearms and criminal finances.
County lines is a major cross-cutting issue involving a range of criminality including drugs, violence, criminal gangs and child criminal exploitation, and involves the police, a wide range of Government departments, local government agencies and voluntary and community sector organisations. County lines gangs often export drugs across county borders from one police force area to another.
This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why we are investing up to £145m over three years in our County Lines Programme to tackle the most violent and exploitative drug supply model yet seen. Through the County Lines Programme, we have established dedicated county lines taskforces in the four force areas exporting the majority of lines (MPS, Merseyside, West Midlands and Greater Manchester Police) as well as the British Transport Police to tackle the national rail network. We are also funding the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The NCLCC has been vital in strengthening the law enforcement response, promoting best practice, and enabling police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue.
Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,600 line closures, over 16,500 arrests and over 8,800 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 2,500 line closures since April 2022, surpassing the Drugs Strategy commitment of over 2,000 line closures by April 2025. Having met this target in half the time, we have now committed to close a further 1,000 lines by August 2024, bringing the total since the Drugs Strategy was launched in April 2022 to over 3,000.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps police forces are taking to monitor breaches of exclusion zones relating to (a) domestic abuse and (b) other violent crimes.
Answered by Sarah Dines
This Government is committed to protecting all victims and tackling domestic abuse and violent crime.
To gain protection from domestic abuse, police can apply for a Domestic Violence Protection Order, victims can apply for a Non-Molestation Order and criminal courts can impose a Restraining Order on acquittal or conviction of a criminal offence. In cases of violent crime, police forces can apply to the court for a Criminal Behaviour Order, Gang Injunction, or Knife Crime Prevention Order which can also impose exclusion zones. Additionally, in community sentences, the court can impose electronically monitored exclusion zones. Responding to breaches is an operational matter for the police to decide upon.
The introduction of the new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Order, will help to strengthen the evidence base for pursuing and prosecuting breach of an exclusion zone in cases of domestic abuse. The new order will be piloted from next year in Gwent, Greater Manchester, the London Boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, and Bromley, and the British Transport Police (Domestic abusers face crackdown in raft of new measures - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).
For offenders on licence, breach of exclusion zones could result in recall by probation and arrest and return to custody by the police. Later this year, the Ministry of Justice will begin a project to test the effectiveness of electronic monitoring of additional licence conditions, including exclusion zones, for domestic abuse perpetrators released on licence.
Asked by: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the national governance arrangements for Single Online Home.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
27 forces are currently live on the Single Online Home (SOH):
England
Wales
24. Dyfed Powys
25. Gwent
26. North Wales
27. South Wales
Additionally, British Transport Police is also on the Single Online Home.
The Programme is regularly assessed by the Home Office for performance and assurance purposes. Through the 27 forces currently on Single Online Home, online services are available to 61% of the population in England and Wales. The platform has recorded just under 2.9 million visitors and 175,450 online reports in January 2021. In the same month, just under 418,000 visitors were redirected to relevant third-party services, providing a better service for the public to support their queries and reducing non-police demand on police forces. In a survey of users, the Single Online Home was shown to be a preferred way of contacting the police (76%) as a more relevant and convenient mean to meet the needs of the public.
All 43 forces in England and Wales have committed to onboarding the Single Online Home. Up to 10 forces will join in 2021/22 and it is expected that all forces will be on the platform by the end of March 2023.
Forces are not mandated to join the Single Online Home, but as an NPCC national programme the expectation is that all 43 forces in England and Wales will join the platform. The onboarding schedule was developed between the Digital Public Contact (DPC) Programme and forces via Statements of Intent where forces provided their commitment to join and what dates worked for them. This enabled forces to factor in other local change initiatives and resource constraints and the Programme to plan for working with different force infrastructures and developing technical fixes to ensure connectivity.
The Single Online Home already provides services to support victims in reporting crime incidents online. This includes a Domestic Abuse online reporting pilot which was launched in October last year. Designed in consultation with forces, ACC Louisa Rolfe, the NPCC Domestic Abuse Lead, and external charities, the service is victim focused and provides victims with a discrete reporting mechanism to access the support they need at a time when Covid-19 presents heightened risk. Following its success, it will now be rolled out nationally from May 2021. A pilot service of Sarah’s Law (child sex offender disclosure scheme) also went live with 6 forces on 23 February 2021 ahead of national rollout while other services due to be developed and piloted in 2021/22 include reporting of Anti-Social Behaviour, rape and sexual assaults, and bribery and corruption.
Governance is overseen by the Home Office’s Strategic Change and Investment Board (SCIB) and reporting is provided by the Digital Public Contact Programme.
Asked by: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the scope of Single Online Home websites to provide easy access to available support for victims of crime.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
27 forces are currently live on the Single Online Home (SOH):
England
Wales
24. Dyfed Powys
25. Gwent
26. North Wales
27. South Wales
Additionally, British Transport Police is also on the Single Online Home.
The Programme is regularly assessed by the Home Office for performance and assurance purposes. Through the 27 forces currently on Single Online Home, online services are available to 61% of the population in England and Wales. The platform has recorded just under 2.9 million visitors and 175,450 online reports in January 2021. In the same month, just under 418,000 visitors were redirected to relevant third-party services, providing a better service for the public to support their queries and reducing non-police demand on police forces. In a survey of users, the Single Online Home was shown to be a preferred way of contacting the police (76%) as a more relevant and convenient mean to meet the needs of the public.
All 43 forces in England and Wales have committed to onboarding the Single Online Home. Up to 10 forces will join in 2021/22 and it is expected that all forces will be on the platform by the end of March 2023.
Forces are not mandated to join the Single Online Home, but as an NPCC national programme the expectation is that all 43 forces in England and Wales will join the platform. The onboarding schedule was developed between the Digital Public Contact (DPC) Programme and forces via Statements of Intent where forces provided their commitment to join and what dates worked for them. This enabled forces to factor in other local change initiatives and resource constraints and the Programme to plan for working with different force infrastructures and developing technical fixes to ensure connectivity.
The Single Online Home already provides services to support victims in reporting crime incidents online. This includes a Domestic Abuse online reporting pilot which was launched in October last year. Designed in consultation with forces, ACC Louisa Rolfe, the NPCC Domestic Abuse Lead, and external charities, the service is victim focused and provides victims with a discrete reporting mechanism to access the support they need at a time when Covid-19 presents heightened risk. Following its success, it will now be rolled out nationally from May 2021. A pilot service of Sarah’s Law (child sex offender disclosure scheme) also went live with 6 forces on 23 February 2021 ahead of national rollout while other services due to be developed and piloted in 2021/22 include reporting of Anti-Social Behaviour, rape and sexual assaults, and bribery and corruption.
Governance is overseen by the Home Office’s Strategic Change and Investment Board (SCIB) and reporting is provided by the Digital Public Contact Programme.
Asked by: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they used to decide the order in which police forces in England and Wales were given permission to implement Single Online Home websites.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
27 forces are currently live on the Single Online Home (SOH):
England
Wales
24. Dyfed Powys
25. Gwent
26. North Wales
27. South Wales
Additionally, British Transport Police is also on the Single Online Home.
The Programme is regularly assessed by the Home Office for performance and assurance purposes. Through the 27 forces currently on Single Online Home, online services are available to 61% of the population in England and Wales. The platform has recorded just under 2.9 million visitors and 175,450 online reports in January 2021. In the same month, just under 418,000 visitors were redirected to relevant third-party services, providing a better service for the public to support their queries and reducing non-police demand on police forces. In a survey of users, the Single Online Home was shown to be a preferred way of contacting the police (76%) as a more relevant and convenient mean to meet the needs of the public.
All 43 forces in England and Wales have committed to onboarding the Single Online Home. Up to 10 forces will join in 2021/22 and it is expected that all forces will be on the platform by the end of March 2023.
Forces are not mandated to join the Single Online Home, but as an NPCC national programme the expectation is that all 43 forces in England and Wales will join the platform. The onboarding schedule was developed between the Digital Public Contact (DPC) Programme and forces via Statements of Intent where forces provided their commitment to join and what dates worked for them. This enabled forces to factor in other local change initiatives and resource constraints and the Programme to plan for working with different force infrastructures and developing technical fixes to ensure connectivity.
The Single Online Home already provides services to support victims in reporting crime incidents online. This includes a Domestic Abuse online reporting pilot which was launched in October last year. Designed in consultation with forces, ACC Louisa Rolfe, the NPCC Domestic Abuse Lead, and external charities, the service is victim focused and provides victims with a discrete reporting mechanism to access the support they need at a time when Covid-19 presents heightened risk. Following its success, it will now be rolled out nationally from May 2021. A pilot service of Sarah’s Law (child sex offender disclosure scheme) also went live with 6 forces on 23 February 2021 ahead of national rollout while other services due to be developed and piloted in 2021/22 include reporting of Anti-Social Behaviour, rape and sexual assaults, and bribery and corruption.
Governance is overseen by the Home Office’s Strategic Change and Investment Board (SCIB) and reporting is provided by the Digital Public Contact Programme.
Asked by: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect all police forces in England and Wales to have implemented Single Online Home websites.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
27 forces are currently live on the Single Online Home (SOH):
England
Wales
24. Dyfed Powys
25. Gwent
26. North Wales
27. South Wales
Additionally, British Transport Police is also on the Single Online Home.
The Programme is regularly assessed by the Home Office for performance and assurance purposes. Through the 27 forces currently on Single Online Home, online services are available to 61% of the population in England and Wales. The platform has recorded just under 2.9 million visitors and 175,450 online reports in January 2021. In the same month, just under 418,000 visitors were redirected to relevant third-party services, providing a better service for the public to support their queries and reducing non-police demand on police forces. In a survey of users, the Single Online Home was shown to be a preferred way of contacting the police (76%) as a more relevant and convenient mean to meet the needs of the public.
All 43 forces in England and Wales have committed to onboarding the Single Online Home. Up to 10 forces will join in 2021/22 and it is expected that all forces will be on the platform by the end of March 2023.
Forces are not mandated to join the Single Online Home, but as an NPCC national programme the expectation is that all 43 forces in England and Wales will join the platform. The onboarding schedule was developed between the Digital Public Contact (DPC) Programme and forces via Statements of Intent where forces provided their commitment to join and what dates worked for them. This enabled forces to factor in other local change initiatives and resource constraints and the Programme to plan for working with different force infrastructures and developing technical fixes to ensure connectivity.
The Single Online Home already provides services to support victims in reporting crime incidents online. This includes a Domestic Abuse online reporting pilot which was launched in October last year. Designed in consultation with forces, ACC Louisa Rolfe, the NPCC Domestic Abuse Lead, and external charities, the service is victim focused and provides victims with a discrete reporting mechanism to access the support they need at a time when Covid-19 presents heightened risk. Following its success, it will now be rolled out nationally from May 2021. A pilot service of Sarah’s Law (child sex offender disclosure scheme) also went live with 6 forces on 23 February 2021 ahead of national rollout while other services due to be developed and piloted in 2021/22 include reporting of Anti-Social Behaviour, rape and sexual assaults, and bribery and corruption.
Governance is overseen by the Home Office’s Strategic Change and Investment Board (SCIB) and reporting is provided by the Digital Public Contact Programme.
Asked by: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which police forces in England and Wales have implemented Single Online Home websites; and what assessment they have made of the impact of these websites on providing the public with a consistent way of (1) engaging with their local police force, and (2) accessing police services online.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
27 forces are currently live on the Single Online Home (SOH):
England
Wales
24. Dyfed Powys
25. Gwent
26. North Wales
27. South Wales
Additionally, British Transport Police is also on the Single Online Home.
The Programme is regularly assessed by the Home Office for performance and assurance purposes. Through the 27 forces currently on Single Online Home, online services are available to 61% of the population in England and Wales. The platform has recorded just under 2.9 million visitors and 175,450 online reports in January 2021. In the same month, just under 418,000 visitors were redirected to relevant third-party services, providing a better service for the public to support their queries and reducing non-police demand on police forces. In a survey of users, the Single Online Home was shown to be a preferred way of contacting the police (76%) as a more relevant and convenient mean to meet the needs of the public.
All 43 forces in England and Wales have committed to onboarding the Single Online Home. Up to 10 forces will join in 2021/22 and it is expected that all forces will be on the platform by the end of March 2023.
Forces are not mandated to join the Single Online Home, but as an NPCC national programme the expectation is that all 43 forces in England and Wales will join the platform. The onboarding schedule was developed between the Digital Public Contact (DPC) Programme and forces via Statements of Intent where forces provided their commitment to join and what dates worked for them. This enabled forces to factor in other local change initiatives and resource constraints and the Programme to plan for working with different force infrastructures and developing technical fixes to ensure connectivity.
The Single Online Home already provides services to support victims in reporting crime incidents online. This includes a Domestic Abuse online reporting pilot which was launched in October last year. Designed in consultation with forces, ACC Louisa Rolfe, the NPCC Domestic Abuse Lead, and external charities, the service is victim focused and provides victims with a discrete reporting mechanism to access the support they need at a time when Covid-19 presents heightened risk. Following its success, it will now be rolled out nationally from May 2021. A pilot service of Sarah’s Law (child sex offender disclosure scheme) also went live with 6 forces on 23 February 2021 ahead of national rollout while other services due to be developed and piloted in 2021/22 include reporting of Anti-Social Behaviour, rape and sexual assaults, and bribery and corruption.
Governance is overseen by the Home Office’s Strategic Change and Investment Board (SCIB) and reporting is provided by the Digital Public Contact Programme.
Asked by: Lord Wasserman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 December (HL3775), which police forces in England and Wales took part in the week of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government continues to encourage police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre
In October 2016, twenty-one police forces took part in a week of coordinated activity under Operation Sceptre. A further major operation took place in July 2017, in which 32 forces participated. The full list of participating forces are as follows:
October 2016
Avon and Somerset
Bedfordshire
British Transport Police
Cambridgeshire
City of London
Cleveland
Cumbria
Essex
Greater Manchester Police
Hertfordshire
Kent Police
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Merseyside
Metropolitan Police Service
Norfolk
Northamptonshire
North Wales
North Yorkshire
South Wales
West Midlands
July 2017
Avon and Somerset
Bedfordshire
British Transport Police
Cambridgeshire
City of London Police
Cleveland
Dorset
Dyfed Powys
Essex
Gloucestershire
Greater Manchester Police
Hampshire
Hertfordshire
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Merseyside
Metropolitan Police Service
Norfolk
North Yorkshire
Northamptonshire
Northumbria
North Wales
Nottinghamshire
South Wales
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Sussex
Thames Valley Police
West Midlands
Wiltshire
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many authorised people are licensed to access the Police National Database, broken down by organisation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Use of the Police National Database is limited to trained officers and staff who have specific roles, for example in Force Intelligence Bureaux. All law enforcement authorities which use PND are required to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and have regard to the Code of Practice for the Operation and Use of the Police National Database’ issued pursuant to the Secretary of State’s powers under section 39A of the Police Act 1996.
The statistics set out in the attached Annex below have been taken from a live operational database and they have not been audited to the level associated with ONS data. As such, numbers may change as information on that system is updated.
Annex
Management information on the number of people authorised to use PND in January 2017.
Organisation | Total |
Avon and Somerset Constabulary | 183 |
Bedfordshire Police | 100 |
British Transport Police | 111 |
Cheshire Constabulary | 116 |
City of London Police | 43 |
Cleveland Police | 123 |
Cumbria Constabulary | 87 |
Disclosure and Barring Service | 6 |
Derbyshire Constabulary | 153 |
Devon and Cornwall Police | 243 |
Dorset Police | 120 |
Durham Constabulary | 129 |
Dyfed Powys Police | 75 |
Essex Police | 243 |
Gloucestershire Constabulary | 151 |
Greater Manchester Police | 417 |
Gwent Police | 105 |
Hampshire Constabulary | 260 |
Hertfordshire Constabulary | 136 |
Home Office (PND Team) | 7 |
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs | 18 |
Humberside Police | 133 |
Home Office (Immigration Enforcement) | 16 |
States of Jersey Police | 9 |
Kent Police | 245 |
Lancashire Constabulary | 132 |
Leicestershire Police | 191 |
Lincolnshire Police | 108 |
Merseyside Police | 279 |
Metropolitan Police Service | 1,100 |
Ministry of Defence Police | 24 |
National Crime Agency | 417 |
Norfolk Constabulary | 112 |
North Wales Police | 105 |
North Yorkshire Police | 126 |
Northamptonshire Police | 101 |
Northumbria Police | 189 |
Nottinghamshire Police | 130 |
Police Scotland | 366 |
Police Service of Northern Ireland | 134 |
South Wales Police | 151 |
South Yorkshire Police | 146 |
Service Police Crime Bureau | 15 |
Staffordshire Police | 203 |
Suffolk Constabulary | 105 |
Surrey Police | 163 |
Sussex Police | 78 |
Thames Valley Police | 350 |
Warwickshire Police | 65 |
West Mercia Police | 139 |
West Midlands Police | 687 |
West Yorkshire Police | 363 |
Wiltshire Police | 115 |
Total | 9,407 |