SHAMED ON STALKING
Police rapped by watchdog for repeated failure to deal with harassment
POLICE are failing to investigate stalking and harassment properly – leaving victims at risk of death or injury, a damning report reveals today.
The police watchdog warned that officers were not ‘consistently or effectively’ carrying out probes.
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary said bungled handling of cases could have ‘tragic consequences’. Inspectors added that forces in England and Wales had failed to follow through properly with recommendations after their previous audit on stalking in 2017. Implementation had been ‘too slow or non-existent’.
The HMIC report comes after it emerged a Sussex Police call handler had been reprimanded after failing to record a woman’s complaints of escalating violence by her ex-husband – eight days before he shot her dead.
Michelle Savage, 32, spoke to the force three times before she and mother-in-law Heather Whitbread, 53, were murdered by former soldier Craig Savage, 35, last year in St Leonards, East Sussex. He was later jailed for 38 years. In the 85-page document HMIC said: ‘In the foreeasier word to our original report [inspectors] said: “This report must be a catalyst for change and improvement. In some cases victims’ lives will depend on it.” This statement remains true.
‘Since 2017, more victims have died after they have been stalked or harassed. Therefore, we consider that our continued emphasis on improving this aspect of policing is of critical importance.’
In the year to last September, police recorded 371,953 stalking and harassment incidents – up 41 per cent on the previous 12 months. Campaigning charities say two women are killed by a former or current partner every week across the country. One in five women and one in ten men experience stalking during their lives. Stalkers are often angry at being jilted while others delude themselves that they are in a relationship with the victim – causing distress and fear by persistently intruding on their lives.
Obsessive behaviour can include unwanted phone calls or texts, emails and letters, loitering, following and spying on their victim, ordering or cancelling goods and services, or threats and violence.
So- called ‘stranger stalking’ -– involving a loose acquaintance, work colleague or, for instance, a patient and a doctor – makes up as much as 50 per cent of all cases. In recent years, the problem has increased as social media makes it for people to ‘meet’ and interact. HMIC called on the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ‘urgently’ ensure forces make improvements to tackle a crime that wrecks millions of lives.
It said it was ‘concerning’ that there was no single definition for stalking adopted by police, the Crown Prosecution Service and Government departments. It added: ‘As a result, police forces are not consistently identifying stalking and are not protecting victims.’
Victims of harassment were not being properly protected because police failed to seek injunctions.
The report said senior officers were not using powers under stalking laws to search offenders’ homes – meaning evidence was being missed and investigations were ‘not as thorough as they could be’. The watchdog also recommended Asbo- style bans for those carrying out a campaign of harassment even if there is insufficient evidence to charge them. Under tough new powers introduced in 2017, courts could impose Stalking Protection Orders to compel offenders to stay away from someone they have been pursuing or ban them from using the internet. Breaching an order can be punished by up to five years in prison. Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: ‘Reports of stalking and harassment have increased by more than 40 per cent. While it is positive that forces are better at identifying crimes of this nature, it highlights the scale of the problem, and the need for an effective and consistent solution.’
Labour said police were overstretched after ‘repeated Tory cuts’ and ‘some of the most vulnerable are suffering as a result’. The NPCC said: ‘The police service remains absolutely committed to safeguarding victims of stalking and harassment – and bringing offenders to justice.’
‘Officers are not protecting victims’