New recommendations from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), College of Policing and HMICFRS* set out the need for police training, reforms to Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) and a joined-up approach to tackling stalking 

London, UK – 27th September 2024: Two years on from the submission of a super complaint by Suzy Lamplugh Trust on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium that found systemic problems in the police response to stalking, the Committee investigating the complaint has published its findings and detailed recommendations to improve policing of stalking, ultimately ensuring that the safety of victims is paramount.

The report lays out a detailed analysis of problems present across police forces, including evidence that many forces do not sufficiently understand stalking, and lack an effective strategy to support stalking victims. As well as this, the Committee found that there is poor risk assessment and safeguarding being carried out across forces, which is potentially leaving some victims at serious risk. Applications of Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) are worryingly low, and police training on stalking is inconsistent across forces. Sadly, these issues are all too familiar to us.  

Suzy Lamplugh Trust and the National Stalking Consortium welcome all the recommendations to forces including the need to review and update police stalking training provision to be co-delivered by external stalking experts, and to implement more effective screening mechanisms for correctly identifying and managing all stalking cases.  

These findings are stark evidence of the urgent need for a complete reform of the police response to stalking. We call on all police forces to publish their action plan for implementing the recommendations, by end of November 2024 as requested by the Committee. For this report to have the impact that is needed, there is also a vital need for mechanisms to be put in place by the government to monitor forces’ progress and hold the police accountable for implementing their action plans.  

We agree wholeheartedly with the Committee that a joint approach from police and the  Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is needed to improve the response to stalking and call on the government to publish a National Tackling Stalking Plan which sets out a whole systems approach to tackling stalking across different agencies.  

The report also highlights a vital need for clarity on the way the stalking law is being interpreted by police and CPS. We’re calling for an independent review of the stalking legislation to identify whether the Act needs to change to ensure appropriate convictions for stalking perpetrators. We hope the Law Commission will consider the findings of the super complaint and consider undergoing a review of the law to ensure any decision to make changes is rigorously evidenced and has the victims’ needs at the heart of it.

This investigation has taken two years following a huge amount of work and evidence submitted from the National Stalking Consortium and victims. It is critical that this work is translated into meaningful and immediate action by each police force to ensure no more victims of stalking fall through the cracks. 

The Government must treat this report with the seriousness it deserves and ensure that the super complaint recommendations will serve as the catalyst for change in this area. We therefore urge the Government to:  

• Publish a National Tackling Stalking Plan that sets out a whole systems approach to tackling stalking across different agencies.  
• Ring-fence £243,810,000 in funding for specialist stalking support services.
• Mandate independent specialist stalking training across all criminal justice agencies.
• Commit to rolling out Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Programmes (MASIPs) across police forces. 

Emma Lingley-Clark, Interim CEO of Suzy Lamplugh Trust, says: “This is a pivotal moment for police forces to demonstrate their commitment to improving the criminal justice experience and outcomes for victims of stalking. However, it is not enough to just say we will do better, instead now we need to see a real commitment to preventing the numerous failures encountered by stalking victims. We know the scale of crime that forces are dealing with, with an estimated 1.6 million victims of stalking in the last year. Ensuring that every victim receives the best possible response requires a mammoth effort across all criminal justice agencies. We welcome these robust recommendations and want to support police forces to urgently implement them. But there is a vital need for these interventions to be resourced. Police alone will not be able to achieve the whole system reform that is needed to address the widespread systemic issues identified in this report. Now is the time for all agencies, including the Government, to join forces against stalking”.  

 

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills, National Police Chief's Council Lead for Stalking and Harassment, says: “We welcome the recommendations made in the super-complaint and remain committed to doing everything possible to improve the policing response for victims of stalking. Stalking and harassment can have a devastating impact on victims. Our criminal justice system must recognise the damage and harm perpetrators cause and protect victims at the earliest opportunity. To effectively do this, policing must respond as part of a wider system approach. As the report highlights, Police forces that have integrated multi-agency models to respond to reports of stalking have seen the best success at disrupting perpetrator behaviour and safeguarding victims. We must continue to drive best practice nationally across forces and ensure that police officers and staff have the right skills and resources to identify and investigate reports and provide support for victims through the criminal justice process.

We are carefully working through the recommendations made for policing and will work closely with our partners across the criminal justice system and beyond to further improve and standardise the service victims receive. Policing will continue to work hard to further improve its response to stalking and harassment, which accounts for 40% of all offences related to violence against women and girls. This includes building on recent work, which has included:

• The introduction of a national stalking screening tool for front line officers
• Further embedding SPOs
• Working with Chief Constables and PCC’s to share the learning from multi-agency perpetrator programmes 
• Work with CPS to improve prosecution rates
• Working with the College of Policing to further improve the training available to police officers
• Improving the available data concerning the incidence of stalking, to help target further improvement activity
• Collaborating with stalking charities, to better understand the experience of victims”  

 
Lord Russell of Liverpool, says: “On several occasions I, and other parliamentary colleagues, have warned the Government that the insidious effects of the growing scale and extent of stalking will return again and again until and unless they take concerted and determined action ensure the implementation of these recommendations across all relevant agencies in full and at warp speed. Without immediate and urgent action victims of stalking will continue to be put at risk, which is unacceptable.” 

 

Rhianon Bragg, says: “I was lucky to survive being stalked, I nearly didn’t.  I know that what I endured could had been prevented if the police and CPS had responded differently. Action must be taken before more lives are needlessly destroyed by stalking.” 

 

Independent Stalking Advocate, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, says: “A lack of training means the police are not identifying stalking at the earliest stage. We often see several isolated incidents recorded as separate crimes and the police do not see the bigger picture of all these incidents, which amounts to a course of conduct. This means that the impact of stalking on victim's is not fully recognised or supported appropriately. By not investigating stalking as what it is, officers are not considering applying for stalking protection orders, often leaving victims with no protection. We need officers to be trained to recognise the offence of stalking from the beginning and be applying for a stalking protection order at the earliest opportunity.”  

 

ENDS

 
Authors of the report, representatives of Suzy Lamplugh Trust, and supporters are available for media comment by arrangement, please contact: [email protected] / 07747 611 308.