The 27th of September marked an important moment for stalking victims in England and Wales, as the IOPC, HMICFRS and College of Policing published the findings of their investigation into the super-complaint that we submitted on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium in 2022. Whilst we have been waiting for these findings for two years, many victims of stalking have been awaiting justice for decades. We must not forget that the harrowing experiences detailed in the report are many victims’ daily reality. We will continue our tireless work hold the police to account and ensure that victims’ needs are at the heart of progress.

 

Commentary

Responding to the super-complaint we submitted in 2022, the committee undertook a vigorous investigation involving research interviews with victims of stalking, evidence reviews about stalking and serious harm, as well as victims’ experiences of the police response to stalking, fieldwork in 6 forces, force self-assessment surveys, reviews of IOPC cases involving stalking and focus groups with both officers and stalking support services.

Systemic failures in the police response to stalking that we shed a light on two years ago are sadly still as pervasive now as they were then. The report states unequivocally that all three organisations investigating the report found clear evidence supporting the claims made in our original super-complaint, including:

• Poor risk assessment and safeguarding that is leaving some victims at serious risk    
• Laws and guidance for police are confusing and inconsistent
• There is a lack of understanding by police of the scale and types of stalking in their area
• There are issues with the quality and resourcing of some investigations 
• SPOs are under-utilised and misunderstood
• IT systems for flagging stalking are outdated
• More can be done to share and build on the good work already being done

Sadly, we’re not surprised. Findings published by the super-complaint committee paint a similar picture to that detailed in a 2017 Living in Fear report by HMICFRS that found multiple failings in the police response to stalking. Yet many of the same problems remain with little evidence of improvement. It is critical that police forces now implement the recommendations made by the committee to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated. The recommendations made in the super complaint should be seen as the minimum forces should do. Victims of stalking have been failed for far too long.

 

Every decision must be informed by expertise

A good police response can be the difference between a victim dropping out of the process and a victim working with the police to help secure a conviction. Yet we know that sadly too often victims of stalking are being let down by poor responses and police negligence. Much like our own findings, the super-complaint found that stalking victims often do not receive the care and support that they need and should be able to expect from the police. 

Many of the committee’s findings point to a systemic lack of knowledge and understanding amongst police forces around what constitutes stalking, as well as the mechanisms available to protect victims, including applications of the law and the use of Stalking Protection Orders.  The committee found that the large majority of forces did not consider stalking training mandatory and were also aware that officers and staff dealing with stalking had not received the training they need.

We welcome the recommendation that the reviewed training uses the skills and knowledge of local victim advocates and others outside policing with relevant expertise, but we would go further and urge that this training be independent and delivered by stalking specialists to overcome the lack of expertise currently evidenced by the committee across forces. This is vitally important for ensuring that victims of stalking are receiving a consistently positive response from the police at the first point of report right through until conviction.

We offer Lifeline Police Training which is specifically designed for all ranks of police with the aim of increasing knowledge and understanding from the point of report right through to conviction and offender management. We can work with police forces across the country to deliver this training, which would address deep knowledge gaps set out in the super-complaint and help forces fulfil the committee’s recommendation for specialist training from stalking experts. Together we can upskill officers and ensure that every decision made by the police is informed by expertise.

 

Making Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) work for victims

Unsurprisingly, the committee found the number of applications across police forces for stalking protection orders (SPOs) to be worryingly low, including a reluctance from officers to apply for an SPO when other protective measures, such as bail, are in place. These findings are consistent with those from our own freedom of information request to the police, which found that only 3 forces who responded had applied for 30 or more SPOs. 12 forces had applied for 10 or less.

The need to increase the amount of stalking protection orders applied for across the country is well-evidenced and urgent. Yet the recommendations made by the committee currently fall short of what is needed for a truly transformative response from police forces in relation to SPO applications.

We want the application of an SPO to protect a victim to become an integral part of the police process. Whilst we welcome the suggestion of better guidance and awareness about SPOs, a national process, such as minimum standards for the application of a stalking protection order, should be established to ensure SPOs are applied for as standard when stalking is being investigated unless there are clear and evidenced reasons why this should not be the case as agreed by the police. Used to their fullest extent, SPOs could be transformative to the lives of victims. That’s why we’re calling for stronger and more widespread use of SPOs in all police forces.

 

Embedding a multi-agency stalking intervention programme (MASIPs) in every police force

Earlier this year for National Stalking Awareness Week, we called for all agencies involved in stalking cases to join forces against stalking. We recognise that, to truly change the course of justice and achieve a positive outcome, we need to work together. We agree wholeheartedly with the super-complaint committee that a joint approach from police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is needed to improve the response to stalking. But we need to go further and ensure that all agencies who have a part to play in the response to stalking are held to account. Multi-agency working must also be quality assured, with the positive impacts evidenced to ensure any risks to victims are identified and mitigated.

Our Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Programme (MASIP) is an example of best practice multi-agency working that offers bespoke intervention that addresses the needs of victims and perpetrators alike by dynamically sharing information and expertise throughout the entire life cycle of a stalking crime so that all cases are dealt with by stalking specialists. This effective multi-agency working is crucial for ensuring victims of stalking are appropriately safeguarded and perpetrators are identified, intervened with, robustly monitored and brought to justice. The MASIP model addresses the fixation and obsession in perpetrators that characterises the stalking offending as well as coordinating support around the victim to create an integrated response.  It draws expertise from across multiple agencies including specialist stalking advocates, the police, NHS psychologists, and probation.  

The Cheshire Harm Reduction Unit is a collaborative service, delivered by integrated Criminal Justice and National Health Service partners with one of the highest charging rates for stalking in the country. The unit works to address risks associated with identified targeted problem behaviours, principally stalking, to protect victims. The HRU manages the threat, harm and risks associated with the highest harm and serial perpetrators of problem behaviour in Cheshire. It provides immediate and ongoing support to victims, including safety planning and access to resources, and facilitates information sharing between agencies for a coordinated, best practice response. We want to see the best practice being exemplified in Cheshire replicated in police forces across the country. We encourage all police forces to work with us to implement a MASIP in their area and holistically address the needs of the community.

We are also concerned that the lack of understanding around what works in stalking is leading to the inappropriate commissioning of standalone stalking perpetrator programmes that are not led by those with expertise in stalking and not embedded within a full multi agency response and end to end response model. For example, in the Home Office Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund 2023, only 15% of bids were dedicated solely to stalking and of these only a small minority were being delivered in an area with existing infrastructure and expertise that we believe are necessary to provide the safest type of intervention. Not all agencies understand the importance of the end to end, embedded model of working and think that regular cross-organisational meetings are sufficient, but the evaluation of the pilot across 3 MASIP sites clearly shows the success of this approach. For the Stalking Threat Assessment Centre (STAC) in London, for example, the reoffending rate was 22% after direct intervention within 18 months of completing the programme, in comparison with the reoffending rate generally exceeding 50%. 

The needs of the victim must be at the forefront of the criminal justice response, and we know that agencies work better when they work together. It is therefore vital that all police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners look to implement embedded, accredited and evaluated stalking specific perpetrator interventions, such as the MASIP, that form part of a system response rather than a standalone one off programme in their local area as part of their strategy to reduce and manage stalking across England and Wales.   

  
Holding agencies to account through the data

Whilst often overlooked, the availability of detailed data is a vital mechanism for tracking the criminal justice response to stalking cases and holding agencies to account. Despite this. the findings outline the lack of detailed data published by the Home Office, which inhibits national agencies and local police when identifying failures and improving responses to stalking and hinders transparency and accountability. We welcome recommendations to disaggregate data on 2a and 4a offences and ex-intimate partner and non-ex-intimate partners, as well as to publish data on the number of SPOs and interim-SPOs granted. We would also welcome data on the reasons for refusals of SPOs by the police or at court to ensure every decision is embedded in expertise.    

However, going further, we also highlight the need for data to published on the number of breaches of SPOs and prosecutions of those breaches, as well as a breakdown on gender and protected characteristics. Gaps in data are systemic across the criminal justice system, and greatly hinder transparency and mar the course to justice.

Currently each authority collects data in a different way, utilising a different time frame to report on. Police must work with the CPS, Home Office, Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to implement a unified recording system and consistent and comparable data sets across all agencies to make it possible to follow the journey of a victim and all incidents associated with them from reporting stage through to conviction and sentencing across all police forces in England and Wales in order to track attrition rates. We also call for the collection and publication of data in a format that enables disaggregation by both crime type and protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

 

A review of the law

Data collected from the super complaint committee points to extensive issues relating to clarity and application of the law. We agree that the law is a source of confusion and is not widely understood by officers, however it is critical that any change in legislation will be based on evidence and appropriate data.

That’s why we’re calling for an independent review of the stalking legislation, much like the review of the Mental Health Act 1983 which set out recommendations for government on how the Act and associated practice needs to change. This review needs to be both comprehensive and independent, using data that is currently not publicly accessible to investigate the core failures of the current legislation and carry out an impact assessment into any recommendations for changes to ensure the law will improve not impede outcomes for victims.  

 

Further action

We hope that this report signals the start of meaningful action from all 43 police forces. However, we know there is so much more to be done, and to bring about the change that is required we need the government and other partners to consider these recommendations, as well as further actions to ensure that every victim of stalking receive the criminal justice response they deserve.

Specialist stalking services are critically under-funded, despite the vital service they provide to victims of stalking when they need it the most. We know that when a victim is supported by an Independent Stalking Advocate (ISA) they have a 1 in 4 chance of getting a conviction in comparison with the national standard of 1 in 1000. The Trust has campaigned heavily to raise awareness about the true cost of stalking services and scale of support required. We’re asking the government for £243,810,000 ring-fenced funding for specialist stalking support services to be able to meet the needs of victims and the increasing demands posed by referrals from the police, CPS and healthcare. 

Whilst the super-complaint details systemic issues in the police response to stalking, we know from the victims we support through the National Stalking Helpline that the CPS response is also sometimes lacking. We reiterate recommendations from the London Victim Commissioners’ Stalking Review for the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) to undertake a national inspection of the CPS response to stalking.  

We have also called for the Government to publish a national Tackling Stalking Plan, to complement the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy published in July 2021 and the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan that was published in 2022, that sets out a whole-systems approach to tackling stalking across different agencies. Government must set out best practice to secure a consistent approach to stalking cases, which will ultimately improve criminal justice response across England and Wales.

 

Conclusion

This report is just the start of the journey. We have seen the evidence clearly and know that the road ahead for all police forces to improve their response to stalking victims will be a challenging one. The super-complaint committee requires police forces to publish their plans for implementing their recommendations by the 22nd of November 2024. We hope to work with forces across the country to put these recommendations into practice. Together, we can join forces to support victims of stalking.