'Stalking protection orders should be simpler'

Stalking protection orders can be applied for by police

An organisation that supports victims of stalking says applications for stalking protection orders should be made more simple.

Figures obtained by the BBC showed Sussex Police issued 105 stalking protection orders (SPO) between January 2020 (when they were introduced) and December 2023.

That was the highest number in the country outside London by a significant margin, but campaigners said the powers were not being used enough by police forces.

Responding to the figures, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips MP says "it's simply not good enough", and that the government is committed to looking at how current legislation defines stalking.

Stalking protection orders can be applied for by police and are designed to protect victims from risky stalking behaviour before a criminal charge is made.

They can be used to protect someone while an investigation is ongoing, or when there is not enough evidence to start criminal proceedings.

A breach of an SPO is a criminal offence and a person can be arrested.

Claudia Ortiz from Veritas Justice, a stalking advocacy service based in Brighton, said: "Clarifying the legislation around stalking and simplifying the application of stalking protection orders would be very welcome developments."

She said court delays were also an issue for people seeking SPOs.

Fixation and obsession

Figures also showed there were 75 breaches of SPOs in Sussex in 2020-23, the second highest rate in the country.

Ms Ortiz said it was "unsurprising" that many SPOs were broken because stalking involved "fixation and obsession".

She added: "What would be more interesting to look at is what those breaches look like, because not all breaches are necessarily related to victim contact.

"Even if orders are breached, it doesn't mean that they aren't worth the effort and the monitoring that goes with them to ensure victims aren't targeted time and time again and in new ways."

Out of 8,796 stalking offences recorded over the four years, 683 resulted in charges or summons - which is a charge rate of 8%, compared to the national average of 7%.

The charge rate of all crimes in England is 6.4%.

Sussex police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne said: "Having the highest number of SPOs per head of population in the country outside London shows just how seriously Sussex Police takes this crime, with specially-designed training and many roles in the force dedicated to tackling stalking and violence against women and girls."

Responding to the figures, Phillips, who is the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: "We as a government have looked at those figures... and seen that there are many problems across the country in how we deal with stalking... and it needs a lot of work."

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