Stalking action plan
Devon and Cornwall Police response to the recommendations contained within ‘The police response to stalking’
– A report on the super-complaint made by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust on behalf of National Stalking Consortium.’
In 2022, The Suzy Lamplugh Trust on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium submitted a super complaint about the way police respond to reports of stalking. The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) investigated the complaint further and looked at areas of concern raised by the Trust including failing to identify cases of stalking and investigating them properly; understanding the impact on victims and protecting them from further harm and using existing powers effectively and managing perpetrators.
The joint investigation found evidence to support the concerns raised in the super complaint. While the IOPC and HMICFRS acknowledged that police understanding of stalking is improving, reflected in innovative action by the police, too often these cases are not being taken seriously enough and the quality of investigations inconsistent.
Several recommendations have been made that give forces and criminal justice partners a plan of action to ensure that cases are identified, and investigation standards improve. There are twenty-nine recommendations and fifteen of these are for Chief Constables, thirteen recommendations are for further action over the coming six months, the remaining two recommendations relate to publication and sharing. In response to the recommendations the Stalking Portfolio lead in partnership with key stakeholders, will be responsible for the delivery of the attached action plan. Key stakeholders include local partners, the Crown Prosecution Service, Strategic Safeguarding Improvement Hub, Vulnerability Portfolio Leads, Learning and Development and Performance and Analysis. Force oversight and support will be provided by the Executive lead for Crime, Vulnerability and Justice.
The Acting Chief Constable chairs a VAWG Platinum Board attended by all strategic business leads and supported by the Force’s Non-Executive Director of Inclusion, Race and Equality. The Executive is also supported by a full time Detective Chief Inspector to deliver our organisational response to VAWG and lead the Stalking and Harassment Portfolio ensuring consistency, best practice, standards, and victim support. Our Stalking Portfolio Lead also acts as a single point of contact for Paladin advocates service, focusing on a victim led approach and investigative standards, enabling communication, and direct contact with investigators.
The organisation has a Stalking and Harassment Working Group delivering a bespoke action plan. Within this forum we will continue to collaborate with our partners and remain focused on improving victim care and accepting the recommendations which will be incorporated within our action plan.
Stalking reports in Devon and Cornwall increased by 14% in 2023 and are projected to increase during 2024 with an increase in both domestic related stalking and non-domestic stalking reports. In 2023 over two thirds of all stalking crimes in Devon and Cornwall involved an ex-partner, therefore it is key to our approach that stalking and domestic abuse are tackled together. We recognise non-domestic abuse offences do not have the same partnership approach due to a lack of Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC). To mitigate the risk, an Independent Stalking Advisor is funded by the Office of Police Crime Commissioner through Victim Support specifically focused on non-domestic abuse cases.
A study in 2017 (Monckton-Smith, Szymanska, Haile, & Sue, 2017) found stalking behaviours were present in 94% of homicides reviewed which involved a female victim and male perpetrator. In response to this Devon and Cornwall Police are currently delivering Homicide Timeline training and we were privileged to welcome Professor Monckton-Smith OBE to our recent Domestic Abuse conference for our Moonstone teams (DA) and local partners.
Creating a better foundation for policing to provide a good service for stalking victims
Devon and Cornwall Police support the recommendation made by the Home Office to bring forward legislation to change the legal framework for Stalking Protection Orders. We are committed to improving the use of the orders whilst recognising the current barriers that exist.
We are privileged to have a dedicated legal team of Vulnerability Lawyers supporting applications of protective orders, working directly with investigators, delivering training, and attending the Stalking and Harassment Working Group and reflective investigative panels.
The stalking portfolio is dedicated to delivering training, recently delivering into our specialist Domestic Abuse Teams (Moonstone) Conference, enhanced Stalking and Domestic Abuse Champions training, Detective Sergeant courses and partnership events. Within Devon and Cornwall Police a network of 70 Stalking Champions is in place, receiving additional training and ongoing professional development supporting the organisation to deliver a quality service.
Meeting expected standards now and doing the fundamentals well
We acknowledge that stalking crimes require a high-quality detailed risk assessment and welcome the production of the NPCC Stalking Screening Tool. This will be introduced as part of the ongoing IT improvements which are currently planned for delivery within the organisation.
An improved performance dashboard is due to be launched imminently, combining this with the VAWG Problem Profile this will increase understanding of where future focus is required. One area identified nationally and locally is the increased risk of cyber related stalking. In October 2024, a Cyber Stalking Campaign was launched, this commenced with training delivered by The Cyber Helpline to all DA and Stalking Champions. Over the coming months there will be a focus on improving understanding within the organisation of cyber enabled crimes and introducing dedicated volunteers from The Cyber Helpline to work alongside investigators. The second phase will include a public facing campaign to increase understanding of this crime type, offer advice and ways to report.
Recognise the difference between harassment and stalking
Devon and Cornwall Police deliver bespoke training to improve our response to stalking which includes identification of offences, understand and recognising risk posed and mitigation of risks ensuring a victim centred, suspect focused and context led investigation.
One area of priority is to reduce the volume and frequency of offending by targeting repeat offenders and safeguarding repeat victims, with performance overseen through our force tactical tasking processes led by the Chief Officer of Crime Justice and Vulnerability.
Implementing what works, spreading promising practice and encouraging innovation
Devon and Cornwall have undertaken extensive work with academics over the 2024 summer period to develop a business case for the implementation of an algorithmic approach to prioritising and predicting high-harm perpetrators of VAWG. The outputs of this work have been shared with the NPCC VAWG Taskforce and the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP). As part of this project, capacity, and capability of the organisation to develop data-driven models has been scrutinised and there is a clear need to enhance the force’s data science capability to enable the development of ethical and sustainable data-driven models. A secondary business case has now been prepared to make the case for the implementation of data science capability and is due for consideration by organisational leads in the coming months.
Strategic leadership and oversight of the police response to stalking
VAWG is now recognised as a national threat, in response Devon and Cornwall Police recently launched a new VAWG Strategy and Platinum Group to meet the Strategic Policing Requirement.
We are focused on improving performance from identification of offences all the way through to bringing offenders to justice.
We recognise this type of offending disproportionality impacts women and girls and the delivery of the new Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy includes stalking as a priority and will drive improvements for these high harm crimes.