A Handbook for Police and Crown Prosecutors on Criminal Harrassment

The Handbook for Police and Crown Prosecutors purposes itself to provide police and Crown prosecutors with guidelines for the investigation and prosecution of criminal harassment cases and to promote an integrated criminal justice response to stalking.

The Handbook was developed by a working group of federal, provincial and territorial criminal justice officials. It was first published in 1999 and updated in 2004; currently it is in its third iteration, reproduced and updated in 2012. Its initial development was prompted by the 1996 Department of Justice Canada review of the criminal harassment provisions in the Criminal Code.

The handbook is supported by statistics on criminal harassment in Canada, definitions and characteristics that are typical of stalking to inform law makers and enforcers of what to be aware of when dealing with criminal harassment cases.

Last, the handbook discusses the legislative history of Section 264 of the Criminal Code and the relationship between this specific piece of legislation and others alongside the amendments that have been made.