Laura Farris questioned on Government and police approach to combatting non-contact sexual offences
The Home Affairs Committee will question Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, Laura Farris MP, and police representatives on Wednesday 24 April in a session focussing on non-contact sexual offences.
Meeting details
Non-contact sexual offences include crimes such as indecent exposure, voyeurism, upskirting and cyber-flashing. Focus on this form of offending has increased in recent years, following revelations that the murders of Libby Squire and Sarah Everard were committed by men with a history of committing acts of indecent exposure and/or voyeurism.
The number of incidents recorded by police continues to rise year on year, with 12,887 cases of exposure and voyeurism in 2022/23. There were 623 convictions for this offence in the same year, down from 811 in 2016/17.
In this session, the Home Affairs Committee will examine the response from police and Government to these crimes. It will consider what more can be done to prevent these offences from taking place, as well as identifying perpetrators and bringing them to justice. This includes how the use of data could better inform the police response.