Sexual Offences

Request Number: FOI/14420

Category: Incident and Crime Statistics - Sexual Offences

Subject: Sexual Offences

Request and Answer:

Request 1

For each of the last 3 financial years and this year to date, how many Section 61 offences (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), HO code 08805, have been recorded by the force?

Request 2
For each of the last 3 financial years and this year to date, how many Section 61 offences (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), HO code 08805, have been recorded by the force where the location of the crime was a residential property? E.g. House/flat/apartment.

Request 3 
For each of the last 3 financial years and this year to date, how many Section 61 offences ( under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), HO code 08805 have been recorded alongside any of the following: 
a) Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an intimate family or relationship, 
b) common assault, 
c) battery,
d) Making a threat to kill,
e) Assault occasioning actual bodily harm,
f) Strangulation and suffocation,
g) Unlawful wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm,
h) Wounding/causing grievous bodily harm with intent,
i) Attempted murder,
j) domestic violence.

Answers 1- 3 

Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does not hold information in relation to request.  Enquires made in relation to your request failed to locate any records or documents relevant to your request based on the information you have provided. 

The legislation referred to in your requests does not apply to Northern Ireland. 

The equivalent offence can be found in the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008.

Accordingly, we have determined that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does not hold the information to which you seek access.

However under Section 16 ‘Duty to Assist’ PSNI have provided the following responses with the equivalent order in N Ireland Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008. 

Answers 1 and 2 

The following table is based on all recorded Administering with Intent offences in Northern Ireland, during the period April 2021 and February 2025.  

Please Note:  Figures for offences recorded from 1st April 2024 are subject to ongoing validation and quality assurance processes until publication in May 2025; annual revisions to previously published financial year figures may also be applied at this time.  

Due to the small numbers of offences recorded, and the risk that individuals could be identified, PSNI have combined figures into a single time period as to provide as requested would attract exemptions under Section 40.  

Answer 3

Crime recording follows the Home Office Countering Rules. The Principal Offence Rule requires that only the most serious offence per victim offender relationship should be recorded. 

Therefore where the ‘Administering with intent’ offence has been recorded, no other offences will have been recorded. The one exception to this would be the Coercive and Controlling Behaviour offence – none of these were recorded alongside the 14 ‘Administering with intent’ offences during this period.