Lily Allen’s experience of stalking makes for a terrifying read. Over seven years, her stalker escalated from online threats to handwritten letters, culminating in breaking into her home at night. But perhaps most frightening was the deficiency of the police response. Allen struggled to get the police to take her concerns seriously. Evidence may have been lost; she was offered no advice nor referred to specialist services; she had to ask repeatedly even to be shown a photograph of her stalker.
Up to 700,000 women in England and Wales are stalked each year. One in five women and one in 10 men will experience stalking in their adult lives, often with profound consequences both personal and professional. Yet only 1% of stalking cases recorded by the police result in prosecution.
Historically, criminal law has focused on the injury or harm caused by a single incident, rather than the cumulative fear and damage caused by repeated incidents in cases of domestic violence and stalking. Thanks to tireless campaigning, the law has been changed. But there are huge challenges in its implementation. Without specialist training for frontline police officers, the Crown Prosecution Service, magistrates and judges, prosecution rates are unlikely to improve.
Even in the few cases where prosecution does take place, sentences tend to be lenient. Rates of reoffending are high, perhaps unsurprising given that most stalkers suffer from psychiatric problems, but it is uncommon for them to receive specialist treatment as part of their sentence.
The police need to keep a stalking register in the same way as they do for sex offenders. It is also worrying that funding for refuges for women experiencing domestic violence and harassment is being cut.
Laura Richards of the stalking advice service Paladin has called stalking “murder in slow motion”. The slow buildup often involved means it should be preventable: there are no acceptable excuses for failing its victims.
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