‘Widespread inconsistencies’ remain one year on from stalking super-complaint findings

The landmark Police Response to Stalking report, a joint investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and the College of Policing, exposed “serious and systemic failings” in how police forces across England and Wales respond to stalking.

“While we welcome the recent National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) progress report and acknowledge the efforts of all forces in making strides towards improved responses, the lack of a national requirement for individual police forces to publicly share their progress seriously hinders the specialist stalking sector’s ability to monitor local progress and hold forces accountable,” said the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

“Without this transparency, it is impossible to fully assess where improvements are being made – and where they are not.”

And while it acknowledged the “difficult funding landscape and genuine resource constraints” for police forces outlined in the NPCC progress report, it said forces “cannot continue to use this as a justification for inaction or delay in protecting victims of stalking”.

“As stalking and harassment account for 43 per cent of violence against women and girls (VAWG) recorded by the police, there is an urgent need to reallocate existing resources to ensure stalking is both prioritised and funded accordingly,” said the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. “At this critical junction, it is vital that police forces implement (and resource) all the requirements of the super-complaint.”

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust acknowledged the efforts made by the NPCC to coordinate and support national improvements, but the “absence of ongoing and publicly available reports from individual forces limits the accountability necessary to drive real change”.

To mark the 12-month anniversary of the report, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium, has released ‘Ensuring Accountability: One year on from the stalking super-complaint findings’.

“We are calling for a uniform and whole-system approach to stalking across all police forces and agencies; urgent and sustained funding to support both victims and frontline professionals, and the active inclusion of the independent specialist stalking sector in training, independently evaluated stalking perpetrator interventions, and any guidance development related to stalking,” it said.

To turn these commitments into meaningful action, it is urging that:

• The NPCC must request biannual published progress reports from individual police forces, with clear metrics, to monitor ongoing implementation of the stalking super-complaint recommendations and ensure accountability where progress is lacking;
• Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) must ring-fence funding for specialist stalking support services, ensuring sustainable support for victims and accredited, independently evaluated stalking intervention programmes for perpetrators; and
• The College of Policing must advocate for independent specialist stalking training development and delivery across all police forces, especially for internal force designated stalking champions, subject matter experts, stalking point of contacts.

“Responsibility does not sit with policing alone,” said the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. “The Ministry of Justice has yet to fully implement its recommendation to routinely publish data on Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs), including the number applied for, granted, and breached.

“Likewise, the Home Office has taken some actions, there are recommendations that have not been fully implemented (such as recommendation 6 to review the impact of the principal crime rule on the identification and investigation of stalking).

“The Trust urges the Home Office to commit to monitor the impact of the principal crime rule on an ongoing basis. Without a whole system response, the response to stalking will remain fragmented, and victims will continue to fall through the cracks.”

Catherine McLaughlin, deputy CEO at the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said one year on from the publication of the super-complaint findings, “victims of stalking are still experiencing a postcode lottery”.

“While we welcome national-level engagement, real change will only happen when every police force is held accountable for progress,” she said.

“Without mandated local reporting, sustainable funding, and meaningful inclusion of specialist services, we risk repeating the same failings that the super-complaint evidenced. Now is the time for commitment to systemic change for victims.”

Deputy Chief Constable Sarah Poolman, NPCC policing lead for stalking and harassment, said: “The NPCC continues to work with all police forces to ensure ongoing improvements for victims of stalking. We welcome the ongoing collaboration with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and wider National Stalking Consortium to ensure ongoing accountability by all police forces for the implementation of the super-complaint recommendations, and we will continue to request the publication of progress reports to ensure transparency.”

Commenting on the Trust’s update, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners joint leads for victims, Avon and Somerset PCC Clare Moody and Kent PCC Matthew Scott, said: “PCCs and deputy mayors have a statutory responsibility to commission support for victims of all forms of crime in their area, which includes access to specialist support for victims of stalking.

“We want victims to be confident their needs will be met which is why we are committed, in partnership with local partners within and beyond policing, to identifying and embedding best practice and driving consistency in the provision of support.

“As part of a whole-system approach to tackling VAWG, several PCCs have also committed to delivering perpetrator intervention programmes, including for stalking.

“Key to improving support and outcomes for the victims of stalking is sustainable and long-term funding for PCCs and local partners, so we reiterate our call for government to prioritise this in its upcoming VAWG Strategy.”

When the Police Response to Stalking report was released, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke commented at the time that it must be a “springboard for action”.

“The seriousness of stalking should not be underestimated. It is a devastating crime and the impact on victims can be life-long. Police forces must do all they can to tackle it with the utmost urgency,” he said.

“We have previously recommended that stalking is prioritised by forces and the wider criminal justice system.

“However, it is concerning that we are still not seeing change as quickly as we should; investigations are often not effective enough and all the risks to victims are not being identified.

“While examples of positive practice were found, this progress is not significant enough to achieve the outcomes all victims deserve.”