• Business advice
• Personal safety
• Traffic and cameras
• Cycling
• Countering Terrorism
• Crime Prevention
• Cybercrime
• Economic Crime
• Emergency Planning
• Organising Events
• Reporting Crime
• Victim Support
• • Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme
  • Dog fostering scheme
  • Domestic abuse
  • External resources
  • Forced marriage
  • Hate Crime
  • Honour based violence
  • Rape and sexual assaults
  • Stalking

Stalking

What is stalking?

There is no legal definition of stalking, However it is generally accepted that it includes repeated attempts to impose unwanted communications and/or contacts on another in a manner that could be expected to cause distress and/or fear in any reasonable person.

Types of stalking behaviour

Taken in isolation behaviours might seem unremarkable. But in the particular circumstance and with repetition, they take on a more sinister meaning. The context and details of the behaviours and the underlying motivation are crucial to understanding the risks that the stalker poses to a victim.

Unwanted communications may include telephone calls, letters, emails, faxes, sms text messages, sending or leaving unsolicited materials/gifts, graffiti, and/or messages on social networking sites. Unwanted intrusions include following, waiting for, spying on, approaching, accosting and going to a person's home.

In addition to unwanted communication and intrusion, the stalker may engage in a number of associated behaviours including ordering or cancelling goods/services, making vexatious complaints (to legitimate bodies), cyberstalking, threats, property damage and violence.

What do we know about stalking?

• According to the British Crime survey (2006), up to 1 in 5 citizens will experience stalking in the UK in their lifetime and approximately five million people experience stalking in any given year.
• The majority of stalkers are known to their victims as ex-partners or acquaintances, but some people are stalked by complete strangers.
  Around 80% of stalkers are male. However, stalkers and their victims can be of either gender.
• Stalkers come from all backgrounds and do not form one 'type'. Stalkers are not homogenous and the motivation for stalking can vary
  Understanding the motivation is important when assessing the risks the stalker may pose.
• Many victims will experience multiple, repeated stalking behaviours before they report this to the police.
• Stalking is life changing. It is frequently injurious to victims' psychological, physical and social functioning, irrespective of whether they are physically assaulted. The majority of stalking victims experience symptoms of traumatic stress and other forms of psychological, social and vocational damage.

Warning signs

A number of warning signs have been identified as being associated with serious violence and murder through researching many cases.

Please be aware of the warning signs, whether you are being stalked, no someone who is or if you are a professional working with victims.

1. Is the victim very frightened?
2. Is there a history of domestic abuse or harassment?
3. Has (name of stalker(s)...) destroyed or vandalised any property?
4. Has (name of stalker(s)...) turned up unannounced or uninvited more than three times per week?
5. Has (...) followed the victim or loitered around their home, workplace etc?
6. Has (...) made any threats of physical or sexual violence?
7. Has (...) harassed any third party since the harassment began? (e.g. friends, colleagues, partners, neighbours)
8. Has (...) acted out violently towards anyone else within the stalking incident?
9. Has (...) engaged other people to help him/her? (wittingly it unwittingly)
10. Has (...) had problems in the past year with drugs (prescription or other), alcohol or mental health leading to problems in leading a normal life?
11. Has (...) ever threatened or attempted suicide?
12. Do you know if (...) has ever been in trouble with the police or has a criminal history for violence or anything else?

If you think you have become a victim of stalking, tell your family and friends and contact our public protection unit on  0207 601 2940.