Police have slapped people with more than a thousand harassment warnings in Sussex in the last year – sparking warnings from MPs they are being misused.

Sussex Police handed out 1,500 of the notices in the past year in response to allegations of harassment, but they do not count as formal legal action.

Sussex Police is one of three forces highlighted for handing out large numbers of Police Information Notices (PINs), with Thames Valley issuing 2,900 and Manchester issuing 900.

The Home Affairs Select Committee said there is a “clear danger” the PINs are being used inappropriately if investigations are not thorough.

The group of MPs wants police forces said recipients may feel the process is unfair because there is no chance to appeal and thinks officers should have better training.

They are calling for people to be allowed to give their account of what happened before a police decision is made and think forces should publish how many PINs are issued on a monthly basis.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz MP said: “Tens of thousands of PINs are issued by the police every year.

“Although a useful tool for stopping harassment, meeting the needs of the victim and addressing problematic behaviour, there is a clear danger that they may be used inappropriately if they are not done in conjunction with good risk assessment and sufficient investigation.

“The lack of any procedure for appealing against a PIN can feel very unfair to recipients.

“Police forces should provide further training to officers on the use of PINs.

“It is also vital intended recipients of a PIN are given the opportunity to give their account of the situation before a police decision is made.

“The failure to share information on PINs between police forces strongly undermines chief constables' ability to assess their force's usage.

“Each force should publish the number of PINs issued on their websites on a monthly basis.

“The Home Office should collate and publish annual data about the number of PINs issued by each force.”

There is no formal police procedure for using PINs and they do not have a time limit. They do not count as police cautions and signing one does not imply the harassment took place but police can use them in future legal proceedings.