Police Management of Stalking in England and Wales: Mapping Strategies Across Forces

BACKGROUND: Stalking has a multifaceted impact on victims and is of considerable importance from a public policing perspective. In England and Wales, there has been criticism of the police's response to stalking and investment in multi-agency working to tackle this. The extent of actual multi-agency working is currently unknown. AIMS: To establish the nature and extent of operational developments within Police Forces across England and Wales to support management of stalking. METHODS: A set of questions were posed to each Police Force in England and Wales under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which provides individuals with a legal right to access information held by public authorities, thus promoting transparency and accountability in public services. RESULTS: Forty-one of the 43 Police Forces approached provided relevant data under this Freedom of Information request. Of these, 34 reported having a strategy to manage stalking cases and 35 a dedicated stalking prevention coordinator. Twenty held multi-agency stalking prevention panels, of which seven offered direct assessments of interventions with the alleged perpetrator. Stalking Protection Order applications were rarely made. Stalking Protection Orders are civil preventative orders introduced by the Stalking Protection Act 2019, enabling police and courts to impose restrictions and requirements on individuals who pose a stalking risk, thereby enhancing victim protection and facilitating early intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Police Forces across England and Wales are at least trying to respond more effectively to the problem of alleged stalking; even the two Forces that did not participate hold stalking prevention panels, according to their official websites. The considerable variation in practice in how Forces are responding, and in particular in how dedicated stalking prevention panels are constructed and working, offers a milieu that is ripe for research on what works best, under what circumstances for whom.