Restraining Orders, 2020-2022

Request 

I am writing to submit a request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I kindly request the following information regarding restraining orders issued within the United Kingdom for the period between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022:

1. The total number of restraining orders issued during the specified period. 
2. The number of restraining orders specifically issued for cases related to domestic abuse during the specified period. 
3. The number of restraining orders specifically issued for cases related to sexual abuse during the specified period. 
4. The total number of breaches recorded for the restraining orders issued between 2020 and 2022. 
5. The number of breaches specifically related to domestic abuse cases during the specified period. 
6. The number of breaches specifically related to sexual abuse cases during the specified period. 
7. The number of breaches that resulted in formal outcomes (jail time, fines and community orders) for the individuals responsible, for all breaches mentioned in points 4, 5, and 6.

If possible, I kindly request the information to be provided in a tabular format, with separate columns for each year within the requested period (2020, 2021, and 2022).

Response

In response to questions one, two, three and seven, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data relating to the number of restraining orders issued by the court or data about the outcomes of breaches. This information is held by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and His Majestic Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS).

In relation to question four, the CPS does not hold the total number of breaches recorded for the calendar years 2020-2022 as requested. However, we can provide the total number of offences of breaching restraining orders which the CPS commenced prosecution during the three calendar years, 2020, 2021 and 2022. This data is provided in ‘Table 1’ within the attached Excel document entitled 'FoI Request 11323 - Attachment'. This provides the provides the total number of breach offences under the three relevant offences (S5 PHA 1997, S5A PHA 1997 and S363 SA 2020).

The caveats appended to the table should be read in conjunction with the data. It should also be noted that restraining orders may be imposed following a conviction for any offence.

The link below provides a detailed explanation about the legislative changes in relation to the three different offences: section 5 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (S5 PHA 1997), section 5A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (S5A PHA 1997), and section 363 of the Sentencing Act 2020 (S363 SA 2020).

Restraining Orders | The Crown Prosecution Service (cps.gov.uk)

In response to question five, please refer to ‘Table 2’ on the attached Excel document which provides data for cases flagged with the domestic abuse monitoring flag.

In relation to question six, the CPS does not hold the data which shows the number of breaches related to cases of sexual abuse.

Under section 16 of the FOI Act we have provided data in Table 3 as advice and assistance. This shows data for offences flagged with the rape monitoring flag during the three calendar years ending December 2022.

Also under this provision, we suggest you refer to the MoJ and HMCTS, who publish the official statistics on the number of restraining orders issued by the courts and the prosecution outcome of cases. Please refer to them via this link: data.access@justice.gov.uk