Progress made to improve police response to stalking following super-complaint

In September 2024, 15 recommendations were made to police chiefs in response to a super-complaint that raised concerns around the police response to stalking in England and Wales.

In November 2024, each police force published a bespoke action plan in response to the super-complaint, detailing its current practice and future plans to meet the recommendations.

In a progress report, the NPCC said collectively, forces have made several key improvements.

Since 2023, there has been an 800 per cent increase in uptake of the College of Policing’s stalking training, with many forces introducing face-to-face training input from victims and advocates, including the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, for new recruits.

Training for new recruits has also been updated to include cyber stalking and how offenders exploit technology to stalk victims.

Data dashboards have been introduced to collect and monitor data relating to reports of stalking to help measure force performance. This data also helps forces to better understand victim and offender profiles and spot wider patterns of behaviour that inform risk assessments.

Most forces now monitor and audit Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) to ensure they are being correctly and promptly enforced.

In addition, many forces have scrutiny panels and early advice clinics, made up of subject experts and wider criminal justice bodies, such as Probation and the Crown Prosecution Service, to ensure investigations are held to a high standard and victims are protected at the earliest opportunity.

Some forces also review custody suites daily to identify detainees exhibiting stalking behaviours, which then triggers a thorough risk strategy from in-force stalking experts and investigating officers, to ensure safeguarding measures are in place for victims, says the NPCC.

It added: “Forces are developing more multi-agency approaches to stalking, including exploring opportunities to embed the Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Programme model pioneered in Cheshire.”

Reports of stalking and harassment have risen sharply in recent years, largely due to changes in recording, but also because officers are better able to identify and record offences.

Stalking and harassment accounts for 40 per cent of all offences related to violence against women and girls, a priority area for all police forces.

Deputy Chief Constable Sarah Poolman, national policing lead for stalking and harassment, said: “Stalking is a highly complex crime where offenders repeatedly target victims and their behaviour can escalate quickly. That is why it’s important that the police response is thorough and robust from the outset.

“Officers need to have the right knowledge and skills to spot wider patterns of behaviour and intervene as early as possible, which is why effective training is key.

“Because stalking is nuanced and complex, understanding what drives offending and addressing those root causes is the only way to prevent harm to victims. Forces that have multi-agency teams which include police, probation and specialist psychologists working together, have had the greatest impact on reducing re-offending rates and better protecting victims.

“Forces have made progress to broaden their understanding of stalking, better assess risk and improve investigations, but it’s important that we continue to work with victims and advocates to develop our approach further. There is more work to be done to ensure consistency of risk assessment, the retrieval of evidence from digital devices, and ensuring there are dedicated services for all victims of stalking.

“It is still the case that victims receive a different level of support depending on what part of the country they live in. Our focus is on driving a consistent approach across forces and using every tool available to us to better protect victims.”

Association of Police and Crime Commissioners joint leads for victims, Clare Moody and Matthew Scott, said: “The NPCC recognises the progress made by forces and highlights examples of good practice in addressing stalking across England and Wales. However, it also identifies several areas for improvement, including the need to address inconsistencies in the support provided to stalking victims across regions and forces.

“PCCs and Deputy Mayors, as the statutory commissioners of victim services, play a critical role in ensuring access to specialist stalking support and will continue to work collaboratively with chief constables and local partners to identify and embed best practice, develop stalking services that address local needs and to drive consistency and improvement across all areas.”

“Sustainable and long-term funding for PCCs and local partners is key to improving support and outcomes for the victims of stalking and we call on government to prioritise this in its upcoming VAWG Strategy and spending review.”

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust welcomed the NPCC report detailing the progress made by police forces in implementing the stalking super complaint recommendations, but remains concerned about the disparity of force implementation.

In a statement, it said: “We are also disappointed that not all forces responded to every element of each recommendation and that there is a resulting lack of detail throughout this report. We urge all forces to make their progress reports publicly available for transparency and to demonstrate accountability to victims in their force areas. “We are happy to see that some forces have made concerted efforts to improve their procedures and response to stalking. We are particularly pleased to see that a few chief constables have embedded specialist independent stalking training across their forces and proactively consulted with specialist stalking organisations in devising and implementing their super complaint action plans as advised by the investigation committee. We also welcome the recognition from the NPCC that the Multi Agency Stalking Intervention Programme (MASIP©) is the ‘most robustly evaluated model available’, with force representatives across England and Wales visiting MASIP© sites ‘to observe best practice and consider how this can be implemented locally’.

“However, we are concerned by the continued failure of some forces to implement the recommendations in full. From crime recording data and training delivery to risk assessments and problem profiles, major inconsistencies across forces will only deepen the existing postcode lottery and patchwork of service provision for stalking victims across England and Wales.

“For example, there are still many forces who fail to adequately recognise stalking perpetrated by non-ex-intimate partners, which impacts both provisions for victims and the scope of training given to officers. This is despite the National Stalking Helpline recording almost half of its callers as being stalked by someone who is not a current or ex-partner. The lack of national data on stalking noted by the NPCC cannot be a justification for an unequal distribution of service provision for stalking victims. It is vital that forces respond robustly to all forms of stalking as without a whole-system approach, victims will continue to fall between the cracks.

“We are also disappointed that many forces do not seem to have used the skills and knowledge of local victim advocates or others from outside policing with relevant expertise to develop and deliver specialist stalking training for their force as recommended.

“The super complaint presents a unique opportunity to strengthen partnerships between organisations; therefore, we are disappointed to see that very few forces have efficient multi-agency working arrangements in place. We have reservations about the number of forces who are attempting to emulate a ‘MASIP-like’ model that does not meet the standards of the official and independently evaluated MASIP©. While alternative multi-agency approaches may have been implemented in the interest of cost-effectiveness, these measures may ultimately lack the expertise required and therefore be at the cost of victim safety. Service provision and robust risk management for stalking victims has been sidelined for too long and we welcome the government’s intention to develop national standards for stalking intervention programmes to ensure investment in effective and independently evaluated models.

“As the official super-complaint process draws to a close, we will continue to support forces in their work to address the recommendations and ensure there is an accountability mechanism for ongoing implementation going forwards.

“We extend our gratitude to the National Stalking Consortium for their tireless work in campaigning for change and supporting stalking victims. We also thank the super complaint committee members from the IOPC, College of Policing and HMICFRS for their thorough investigation and their engagement with the specialist stalking sector throughout.

“Now is the time for a commitment from forces to ongoing action to ensure that two years of investigation were not done in vain. We look forward to reviewing specific police force updates and providing a further in-depth response soon. Victims of stalking cannot afford to wait any longer for change.”