Police given new guidance to stop stalkers, as minister says ‘there is more we must do’
New legal guidance will make it easier for police to go after stalkers, after ministers admitted too many are slipping through the net.
Stalking Protection Orders were introduced four years ago and allow police to impose conditions on perpetrators not to approach or contact their victims.
But figures obtained under freedom of information laws by a victims’ charity show some police forces have issued fewer than 10 per year.
A breach of one of these orders is a criminal offence carrying a sentence of up to five years.
Laura Farris. Pic: PA
Safeguarding minister Laura Farris has today issued new statutory guidance to all 43 police forces to apply a lower standard of proof when issuing these orders.
She told Sky News on a visit to a helpline for stalking victims: “Previously the police would have to meet the criminal standard which is beyond reasonable doubt.
“We’re lowering that now, so they only have to persuade a judge on the balance of probabilities, a kind of 50-50 test, that a Stalking Prevention Order is appropriate.
“We know that stalking, particularly when it occurs in the context of a romantic relationship that has come to an end, can be a predictor of more serious offending down the line.
“We must continue to treat stalking with the utmost gravity. Having doubled the maximum sentence, and introduced a new civil order to protect victims, we know there is more we must do.”
One in five women and one in 10 men will experience stalking
Victims say these orders are not issued as often as they should, because police and courts do not consider the legal threshold to be met – even when dozens of incidents are reported.
An estimated one in five women and one in 10 men will experience stalking during their lifetime, according to the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a personal safety charity named after the young estate agent who disappeared in 1986.
Figures obtained by the trust under freedom of information laws show 12 police forces applied for fewer than 10 interim or full Stalking Protection Orders in 2022-3.
Only three forces applied for more than 30, with the total number of orders last year thought to be in the low hundreds. The number of reports of stalking to the police in that year was 116,323.
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The number of people convicted of a criminal offence of stalking in the year to March 2023, according to the latest official figures was just 1,955 – a rate of 1.7%.
‘Shockingly low conviction rates’
Emma Lingley-Clark, interim chief executive of the trust, said: “This year marks another year of shockingly low conviction rates for stalking cases, and ongoing failures by the criminal justice system when keeping victims informed.”
Often stalking is misunderstood as a series of individual crimes, such as criminal damage or malicious communication, and the pattern of obsessive behaviour is not understood.
‘I lived every day in fear’
Sky News spoke to a woman who was stalked for eight years by someone she had never met, before securing a restraining order.
She said: “The incidences that were happening just did not add up. There were missed phone calls, text messages, then I started noticing things like criminal damage to my car and my property. I lived every day in fear. This person was infiltrating themselves into my life and my network.
“The police took each incident in isolation and didn’t recognise the pattern of behaviour. I often felt victim-shamed and like I wasn’t taken seriously.
“At one point I had a panic attack and a breakdown in the police station because they wouldn’t help me. I cried and said: ‘All I want is my safety.’ It’s changed me fundamentally.”
It was later established that the stalker was known to police and had done this before.
Number of stalking reports increasing
Paul Mills, the lead on stalking and harassment at the National Police Chiefs Council, told Sky News the number of reports of stalking – especially cyber-stalking in which victims are pursued at least partly online – is increasing, and new software is being rolled out to help police monitor it.
He said: “Stalking is a really serious crime. We know the impacts on victims can go on for many, many years and they end up living in fear.
“Often it can be a hundred times before a victim of stalking actually contacts the police. And behind that, there is a threatened risk. We know that often the individual is fixated, and that often their behaviour will escalate quite quickly.
“What we’re trying to do with the police forces across England and Wales is improve the understanding of stalking from the points of contact through the investigation, so we can understand the background of the stalkers taking place, and what the risk is.”
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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