Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
DON’T LET STALKERS CLAIM MORE VICTIMS
Call for offender register CLARE BERNAL ALICE RUGGLES JEANETTE GOODWIN FARKHANDA YOUNIS WENDY BILLING
A STALKERS’ register must be introduced to prevent further tragedies, campaigners insist.
They want the Government to offer greater protection to the 1.1 million people stalked in
Britain every year.
It follows a series of cases where killers have murdered partners after ignoring restraining orders.
Two stalking victims are killed each week.
Laura Richards, of Paladin victims advocacy group, said: “Victims’ families don’t want anyone else to go through what they’ve been through.”
Paladin found 76% of murders take place after a break-up. The Mirror launched a campaign backing a register after it emerged an estimated 25,000 serial offenders have attacked more than one partner.
The register would monitor them to stop them striking again. Laura said both the All-party Parliamentary Inquiry and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary had made the recommendation for it “yet nothing has changed”. A decision on the register, which would oblige serial offenders to tell partners of their past and report to police a change of address, may come later this month. THE Harvey Nichols beauty consultant, 22, was shot and killed at the perfume counter where she worked by Michael Pech, her ex-boyfriend. Killed at 24 by Harry Dhillon, 26, after reporting breach of harassment warning by ex.
Mum-of-three, 47, was killed by ex, Martin Bunch. He had stalked her for months before.
ABUSE victim, 30, was killed by husband Jahangir Nazar. Her son, five, found her.
Stabbed to death by ex, Sean Francis, 37, after he got a conditional discharge for assault on Wendy, 32.