Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have instigated, or plan to instigate, undercover police investigations into potential female genital mutilation perpetrators in the UK.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
How the police enforce the law in any particular case, including decisions on arrests, is an operational matter. This is in line with their duties to keep the peace, protect communities and prevent the commission of offences, working within the provisions of the legal framework set by Parliament. It is for the police to decide what might assist them in enforcement. The instigation of undercover investigations and the deployment of undercover officers is an operational matter for chief officers. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls. To support the police in investigating cases of FGM, in March 2015 the College of Policing published Authorised Professional Practice and on 1 April we published updated multi-agency guidance on FGM for all professions, which we have put on a statutory footing to support compliance.
