The Danish Police’s Response to Stalking: An Exploration of Victim Perspectives

Background: This study aimed to investigate the experiences of Danish help-seeking stalking victims who had been in contact with the police, or decided not to contact them, within the timeframe of 2015–2023. Methods: This cross-sectional study used two datasets collected by the Danish Stalking Center in 2015–2020 and 2020–2023, respectively. In total, 1,019 respondents were included in the analyses. Results: Most stalking victims were women (88.8 per cent), a mean age of 38.9 years (SD = 11.34). Most had been in contact with the police (56.3 per cent), but a large number did not report stalking, fearing escalation (35 per cent), lack of energy (30.9 per cent) or due to the belief that the police could not help (34 per cent). Overall, 45.9 per cent of participants were satisfied with law enforcement’s competence in handling their stalking case. Linear regression analysis showed that those stalked by an acquaintance or a stranger reported a more positive perception of the police’s competence ( p < .05) compared to victims of intimate partner stalking. Logistic regression uncovered regional differences in the types of stalking behaviours experienced by victims. Conclusion: This study highlights an important issue that has received relatively little attention in Denmark. The findings suggest there is a need for improved police responses and support services for stalking victims in Denmark.