A timely report on the rise of stalking — now police must take it seriously
LAST NIGHT’S TV Stalking: State Of Fear (ITV1) ★★★★★
OPINION polls are obsolete. Focus groups are irrelevant. If you want to know what people are really thinking about, take a look at television viewing figures.
The surprise hit on Netflix, clocking up nearly five million views in its first two weeks, is the stalker drama Baby reindeer — starring its writer, richard Gadd, who based the story on his own real-life ordeal.
The show’s success reflects how common the crime has become. Once, only pop stars and film actresses had stalkers. But today in Britain alone, nearly two million women are living in fear of obsessive prowlers dogging their every move online, at work and in their homes, according to a statistic on Stalking: State Of Fear.
This one-off documentary didn’t spell out how many men, like Gadd, are also living under siege. But it’s estimated that 80 per cent of victims are female — which suggests up to half a million men could also have a stalker.
Why the crime has surged so fast in recent years was not explained. The only insight into
its spread came from Louise, a woman in Glasgow whose former business partner began tormenting her after she changed job. ‘He’s a very tough, macho man,’ she said, ‘and it’s his way or the highway. So when I pulled out, he sought revenge.’
There was no such simple explanation for the twisted behaviour of stalker Kelvin James, who targeted a Lancashire doctor called Marie after dating her a couple of times. He placed a tracker on her car so he could materialise wherever she went — then reported her to police, claiming she was obsessed with him.
Marie remained remarkably calm as she recounted to the cameras what happened next. even though she had a restraining order in place against James, police seemed more inclined to believe his version.
They commandeered her phone, supposedly to check the messages — then failed to return it for six months. That almost appears to be an act of spite. One of the officers on the case was later jailed for two years himself, for stalking and harassing a female colleague.
The most disturbing failures by police may have cost a 23-yearold woman her life. Horse-mad Gracie Spinks contacted officers to report a terrifying campaign against her by her former supervisor at work, Michael Sellers.
a few days later, a dog-walker dialled 999 to report finding a bag of weapons, including three knives and an axe. The bag contained a receipt linking it to the stalker, Sellers — and it was hidden close to the stables where Gracie kept her horse.
Police took no action . . . and a month later, Gracie was stabbed to death by Sellers, who then killed himself.
The casual, callous attitude of officers who appear to dismiss stalking as a low-level offshoot of domestic tiffs is frightening. Police need to start taking victims seriously — because, if TV viewing figures are any indication, a huge number of people are concerned.