A series of high-profile campaign groups have launched a super-complaint against the police today, claiming that they are failing to protect victims of stalking, amid alarmingly low prosecution rates.
“We want to see all forces have those specialist officers embedded on the frontline, so that any stalking victim that comes forward to any police officer gets the right response,” she said.Suky Bhaker, CEO of The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said she hopes that the super-complaint will result in urgent improvements to the police response to stalking, based on a series of new recommendations.
“We support thousands of victims every year across our National Stalking Service and a significant number of them tell us that they are being let down by the police and the courts at every step of their journey to justice,” says Bhaker. “Failure to identify and investigate stalking at the earliest possible opportunity results in an increasing risk of physical and psychological harm to the victim.”from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner.