A MISSION to tackle stalking is underway as part of a week of awareness-raising police action.
West Mercia Police is supporting Stalking Awareness Week, a campaign run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which aims to support victims and combat ‘woefully’ low conviction rates for stalking offenders.
The region’s force want to raise awareness of the support systems in place for victims of stalking throughout the awareness week, which runs from April 22-26.
Stalking is a crime which affects one in five women and girls and one in 10 men. It is almost always devastating for victims, with 91 per cent experiencing psychological impacts and 73 per cent having symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The trust, through freedom of information (FOI) requests, has established ‘systemic issues’ across agencies when dealing with stalking cases, including ‘vast’ gaps in national data about victims’s journeys through the justice system.
Only 11 of the 43 forces who received an FOI were able to show how many stalking cases ended up being charged as different crimes, for example malicious communications or when no further action was taken on a case.
The trust also said there was a complete lack of evidence obtained from the FOI’s regarding how many Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) were not authorised by the police and for what reason, or how many SPOs are refused at court.
According to the trust’s data analysis, there is just a 1.7 per cent conviction rate for stalkers and only seven police forces confirmed to having at least one dedicated stalking officer. 12 forces admitted to having none.
Previous surveys in 2017 discovered only 13 per cent of victims who suffered mental health problems were referred to advocacy, victim or police services upon disclosing their experiences to healthcare professionals such as GPs or mental health practitioners.
Also, 34 per cent of victims were offered nothing and just 28 per cent who seeked help felt their request for support was positive or helpful.
Detective Superintendent Leanne Lowe said: “This week is an opportunity to talk about how we tackle stalking and support victims.
“As a victim of stalking we know that you can feel very alone and unsettled, and the experience can be extremely distressing for you, your family and friends.
“This is why it is important that we get the message out that help and support is always available.
“Please do not feel that you are alone.
“We know that it can sometimes take great courage to report stalking to the police, rest assured that we take all reports very seriously and our specially trained officers will offer you full support and reassurance.
“They will also be on hand to work with partners to provide safeguarding”.
You can report being stalked by calling the police on 101.
Alternatively, visit https://www.suzylamplugh.org/Pages/Category/national-stalking-helpline to contact the National Stalking Helpline.
Visit https://www.suzylamplugh.org/national-stalking-awareness-week-2024 for more information.
