Stalking Campaigners Claim Police Letting Down Thousands of Victims in England and Wales

Police officers stand in sight of Big Ben as they monitor a march to protest against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London on Jan. 15, 2022. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Campaigners against stalking have launched a so-called super-complaint against police forces in England and Wales, claiming there is a failure to identify offenders, investigate crimes properly, or protect victims.

The National Stalking Consortium—which is made up of 21 organisations and individuals—pointed out only 5 percent of stalking cases in England and Wales lead to someone being charged and they said there were systemic issues to blame for that figure.

Suky Bhaker, chief executive of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which is part of the consortium, said, “We support thousands of victims every year across our National Stalking Service and a significant number of them tell us that they are being let down by the police and the courts at every step of their journey to justice.”

Ten years ago a change in the law meant that stalking was made a specific offence, but campaigners say too few offenders are being charged.

Bhaker said, “Failure to identify and investigate stalking at the earliest possible opportunity results in an increasing risk of physical and psychological harm to the victim.”

The police in England and Wales issued more than 400 stalking protection orders in 2020.

But the campaigners say stalkers are too often charged with minor offences such as malicious communications or criminal damage, without officers realising they are actually part of a pattern of stalking.

Stalking cases occasionally hit the headlines when the victims are celebrities or other high-profile figures.

In September Alex Belfield, 42, was was jailed for five years at Nottingham Crown Court for waging a stalking campaign against broadcasters including Jeremy Vine.

Belfield repeatedly posted abusive messages on social media and also sent insulting videos and emails.

Bernie Keith, a presenter with a BBC local radio station, said he felt suicidal after receiving a “tsunami of hate” from Belfield.

Former BBC local radio DJ Alex Belfield, who was later jailed for five years for stalking offences, arrives at Nottingham Crown Court in Nottingham, England, on July 5, 2022. (PA)

The Victims’ Commissioner for London, Claire Waxman, said, “Too many stalking victims are being let down by the police and wider justice system—with stalking behaviours being ignored or minimised, and breaches of restraining orders not taken seriously enough.”

Waxman, who has herself been a victim of stalking, said she fully supported the National Stalking Consortium’s super-complaint and said, “While I hoped the revised stalking legislation would lead to better protections and justice for victims, 10 years on the charge rate remains unacceptably low.”

‘Significant and Deeply Concerning Issues’

Donna Jones and Sophie Linden, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ (APCC) joint victims leads, said, in a statement, “This complaint raises some significant and deeply concerning issues with the way police are identifying, investigating, and responding to stalking.”

They said: “Stalking is an extremely serious offence that can destroy the lives of those affected and their families. The emotional and psychological impact of this crime cannot be under-estimated, and it is vital that police have the tools to be able to identify and recognise the significant harm this crime causes to victims and respond robustly.”

They said Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales are committed to holding chief constables to account and added, “System-wide improvements must be made if we are to ensure that we are effectively safeguarding vulnerable victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.”

Katy Bourne, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner and the APCC’s national stalking lead, said: “It is disappointing that, after 10 years of stalking legislation, the law and all the tools available to police are not being used consistently or to their fullest extent. Almost every week we hear about victims of stalking saying they reported incidents to police repeatedly but they did not receive an appropriate response.”

She said: “Stalking is still, it seems, a Cinderella crime for some forces. For too many police officers, it fails to register as a serious pattern of obsessive and corrosive behaviour that ruins lives and can end up with fatal consequences.”

There have been a number of stalking cases which have ended in murder.

In September 2005 beauty consultant Clare Bernal, 22, was shot dead in the Harvey Nichols department store in London by an ex-boyfriend, Michael Pech, who then killed himself.

Pech and Bernal had broken up seven months earlier and he had been convicted of harassment and was on bail pending sentencing when he murdered her.

Five years later a new, stronger offence of stalking was introduced and replaced the charge of harassment.

In 2016 Shana Grice, 19, was murdered by Michael Lane, 27, in Brighton.

Lane was later jailed for life but in 2019 a police officer, Trevor Godfrey, was cleared of gross misconduct by a Sussex Police disciplinary panel.

Godfrey had issued Grice with a warning for wasting police time after she complained about Lane a few months before her death. Godfrey decided to take no further action against Lane.

Grice’s parents said the hearing was a “sham.”

In June 2021 Gracie Spinks, 23, was stabbed to death in a field in Derbyshire.

Her killer Michael Sellers, 35, then killed himself.

Spinks had complained to Derbyshire Police in February 2021 that Sellers was stalking her.

PA Media contributed to this report.