Suzy Lamplugh Trust welcomes the Home Office's

announcement

today introducing the Stalking Protection Orders.  This is a step forward in the way stalking is handled in England and Wales

and an acknowledgement of the suffering victims of stalking can face. 

 

Whilst we continue to aim to for the stalking amendments to the Protection from Harassment Act to be applied properly to cases (only 1,273 people have been convicted since introduction in 2012), we welcome the introduction of the Stalking Protection Orders as a step forward in how stalking is perceived and treated.  We hope to see the new Order complement the existing legislation and encourage the Home Office to recommend that SPOs are applied for whilst a criminal investigation into a course of conduct is pursued. 

 

We welcome the obligation the police to apply for the Stalking Protection Order; this takes the onus away from the victim as well as the cost civil injunctions accrue.  We hope that this obligation will be supported by extra training for the police to adequately recognise stalking behaviours when presented by victims. 

 

We are pleased to see the inclusion of positive obligations with the SPOs and the acknowledgement that intervention may be positive in some circumstances.  However, we reiterate again our concerns about the reality of this. Stalking specific therapeutic intervention does not exist at this moment and sign posting stalkers to existing services such as anger management classes or relationship workshops may be wholly inappropriate. We urge the Government to support our call for stalking specific perpetrator intervention as requested by many victims of stalking. 
 
Suzy Lamplugh Trust runs the National Stalking Helpline which continues to offer support and advice to anyone concerned or frightened by stalking behaviours.