Home›Questions on Notice›QoN 726

❓ Hon Michelle Boylan questions WA Police on the classification and recording practices of stalking offences, particularly regarding family and domestic violence. The response clarifies how stalking is categorised and recorded within the WA Police framework.

AnsweredQoN 726Legislative Council

Asked

16 October 2025

Member

Hon Michelle Boylan

Portfolio

Police

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the classification and recording practices of stalking as an offence, and I ask: (a) under what categories in the Western Australian (WA) Police Crime statistics are stalking matters recorded; (b) is stalking classified as “threatening behaviour”, or separately; (c) is there a process for identifying stalking matters that are family and domestic violence in nature; (d) are stalking reports entered in any Police database system; (e) if yes to (d), which; and (f) does WA Police collect data on the number of stalking complaints that are classified as other offences?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

18 November 2025

Responded by

Minister for the Environment representing the Minister for Police

Response time

7 days

(a)   Stalking offences in Western Australia are currently categorised under the broader classification of Harassment, which itself falls within the overarching category of Miscellaneous Offences, as defined by the Western Australia Police Force’s crime recording framework. This is in line with national standards for offence classification and reporting. (b)   Separately.
(c)   Yes.
(d)   Yes.
(e)   The Incident Management System.
(f)      Police will investigate the circumstances of each reported incident categorised as Miscellaneous Offences, and then determine what (if any) offence(s) apply based on the available evidence and relevant legislation.

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