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Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has backed a national campaign raising awareness of stalking, highlighting the new measures she is funding locally to improve the safety of victims.
In fulfilling a long-held commitment to prioritise Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), the County Durham and Darlington PCC has invested in a raft of projects to better protect victims of stalking and enhance support for survivors.
In marking National Stalking Awareness Week, which runs from April 21st-27th, the PCC provided an update on work being undertaken by the County Durham and Darlington Stalking Intervention Project (D-SIP) to reduce incidents of stalking and protect people from harm.
D-SIP is a multi-agency collaboration between the Commissioner’s office, Durham Constabulary, North-East Probation Service, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, victim care services and members of the National Stalking Consortium including Alice Ruggles Trust and Paladin, the National Stalking Advocacy Service.
The partnership has been meeting for 12 months and has already delivered a wide range of interventions. Highlights include:
- The introduction of a Police Stalking Champion model, jointly funded by the PCC and force, that initially sees 20 frontline or investigative officers trained by Paladin to understand the difference between stalking and harassment, the current legislative options available, the use of Stalking Protection Orders, the impact of stalking on victims, safety advice and the assessment of risk. They will act as Single Points of Contact and will help to build further capacity and awareness across other teams within the Force.
- The roll out of assembly talks, funded by the PCC, in association with the Alice Ruggles Trust in 52 schools across the force area to raise awareness of the early signs of stalking behaviour to prevent future tragedies.Â
- The roll out of stalking awareness training across Durham and Darlington by the North East Probation Service for Probation Practitioners
- The launch of an Independent Stalking Advocacy Casework (ISAC) Peer Support Network
- The launch of a Stalking Protection Order Administrator role through government funding to tackle Serious Violence.
- Upskilling of Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) to become qualified ISACs within the services of specialist domestic abuse charity Harbour. Also embedding ISACs within the Commissioner’s Victim Care and Advice Service (VCAS) to provide advice and support to victims of non-domestic stalking.Â
In supporting the awareness week, Joy Allen said: “Stalking is a serious crime and has a devastating impact on victims, causing long-lasting distress, fear and anxiety. We treat Stalking in Durham with the gravity it deserves, and I am proud of the national recognition our innovative approach has gained.
“Like many other types of offending, Stalking requires a whole-system approach and cannot be tackled by the police alone. The launch of D-SIP has helped to coordinate resources and investment to maximum effect, funding both preventative measures and enhanced care for victims as they journey through the criminal justice system.
“Recent high-profile stalking incidents in the media have illuminated the devastating emotional toll this behaviour inflicts on victims. We know victims often experience over 100 incidents before reporting them to police. As challenging as stalking can be for the professionals to recognise, the law is very clear, and we cannot afford to miss opportunities to get victims the help they need.
“This is why I will continue to do everything possible alongside our partners to empower victims to seek out help by building trust and confidence in the services we have in place to protect them.”
Around one in every five women in the UK and one in 10 men will experience stalking in their lifetimes.
The PCC has welcomed changes being proposed in the Government’s recent Crime and Policing Bill, currently progressing through parliament, which if approved, will see the introduction of a standalone offence for stalking.
The Bill also includes proposals to strengthen Stalking Protection Orders, enabling the Courts to legally issue a Stalking Protection Order on conviction or acquittal without an application from the Police, and new ‘Right to Know’ powers allowing police to release the identity of online stalkers to victims at the earliest opportunity.
Last year, in responding to the Suzy Lamplugh 2022 Stalking Super-Complaint, MP Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, announced her intention to introduce multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking. This would, for the first time, establish a multi-agency framework setting out how agencies such as the police, healthcare and education should work together to pursue perpetrators of stalking and protect victims.
National Stalking Awareness Week aims to increase awareness of stalking, its impact and how to combat it and emphasises the importance of partners working together.
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