Police slammed for failing to use special powers designed to clamp down on stalking

Police forces across the UK have been slammed for failing to use special powers designed to clamp down on stalking - because they're deemed “too much work”. Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) were introduced in 2020 to protect victims from being further harassed, but in the ensuing five years have been used in just 0.3% of all known cases of stalking

A Freedom of Information request has now revealed that between 2020 and 2023, when nearly 440,000 cases of stalking were recorded across all 44 UK police forces, only 1,388 SPOs were issued. One force has admitted the orders are difficult for officers to manage because they create “pages and pages of paperwork.” Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, led calls for police to do better, saying: “It's simply not good enough.”

And the father of Clive Ruggles, who began campaigning after daughter was murdered by her stalker, said: “This is what we fought for. They have to be used and used properly."

Cleveland Police, where domestic violence has become a serious problem, issued just three SPOs last year and only four the year before.

They insist tackling stalking remains a priority for a force which sees the second highest recorded offences for stalking in England and Wales when taking population size into account.

Assistant Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Richard Baker said that applying for SPOs can “often lead into pages and pages” of paperwork, adding: “They're not simple to do for police officers but that shouldn't be a barrier for victims because we are always putting victims first. But a busy workload is one of the drawbacks of some of the civil orders available to us."

Responding to the figures uncovered by the BBC, Jess Phillips said: "It's simply not good enough. 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. It needs a lot of work.”

Stalking Protection Orders were part of the Stalking Protection Bill brought forward by former Liberal Democrat MP for Totnes Sarah Wollaston in 2018 which came into force in January 2020.

At the time Ms Wollaston described stalking as an “insidious form of harassment.”

The Alice Ruggles Trust, an anti-stalking charity set up in memory of a 24-year-old who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in Gateshead in 2016 after being stalked when their relationship ended, were part of the campaign to get SPOs passed in law.

Alice's father, Clive Ruggles, said he was “getting increasingly exasperated” that SPOs were so little used five years after being introduced.

He said: “This is what we fought for. SPOs provide a hugely important means of restraining perpetrators and protecting victims.

“They have to be used and have to be used properly."

The National Police Chiefs Council said: “SPOs are a valuable tool in protecting victims from perpetrators of stalking and harassment.

“We are working hard to drive best practice nationally across forces, ensuring orders are applied and utilised across the board, so the police response to stalking is more consistent and our service to

victims is improved.”

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust submitted a super complaint about police response to stalking in 2022 with the findings by His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary concluding that “significant

changes are needed” to improve the police's response to reports of stalking, including making SPOs simpler and easier for the police to use.