Police force will 'relentlessly pursue' stalkers

Chief Constable James Vaughan met with survivors of abuse, stalking and sexual offences

The police chief for Devon and Cornwall has vowed to "relentlessly pursue" perpetrators of stalking and abuse crimes after meeting with victims.

Among them was Georgia Gabriel-Hooper, who said she witnessed her mother being murdered by her stepfather, and spoke of her mission to help the force "learn" how to support victims.

It follows a review into how the force handles stalking cases, commissioned after the murder of Claire Chick in Plymouth in January.

James Vaughan, Devon and Cornwall's Chief Constable, told the BBC the force would take a "more robust" approach when it dealt with criminals who breached orders after stalking and domestic abuse offences.

Georgia Gabriel-Hooper said she witnessed the murder of her mother

Ms Gabriel-Hooper said she watched as her mother Cheryl Hooper was murdered by her estranged husband when she was 14.

It happened in 2018 in Newport, Shropshire, and Ms Gabriel-Hooper, now 21, has since moved to Devon.

"I will be raising a lot of barriers I think victims experience with the police," she told the BBC.

"How the police can be better at supporting victims and just understanding what it's like to be on the other side."

Ms Gabriel-Hooper said her mum left her step-dad after their seven-year marriage which was blighted by coercive control.

On their separation, he followed her before he murdered her.

"The police have their failings but they will never learn if people like myself don't help," she added.

'Robust action'

Mr Vaughan told the BBC officers would be encouraged to take "more robust action" when people breached their bail, breached stalking prevention orders or domestic violence orders.

"We will relentlessly pursue perpetrators and suspects for these kinds of offences," he added.

It followed a review of stalking, which looked at 600 cases, he said.

"It leads to a strengthening in certain parts of our policy and procedure.

"With a strengthened approach to those that perpetrate these offences."

Mr Vaughan said there was also new emphasis on "non-contact" sexual offences - such as verbal harassment on a night out - as they were deemed "pre-cursor" offending which could prevent more serious offending in the future.

He said it was a "valuable opportunity" for staff to learn directly from victims how it felt to go through the criminal justice system.

"We don't always get this stuff right and I'm really keen, with our partners, to provide the very best service to people that we can."