New legal guidance will make it easier for police to track down stalkers, after ministers admitted too many stalkers were slipping through the cracks.

Stalking protection orders were introduced four years ago and allow police to impose conditions on perpetrators not to approach or contact their victims.

But figures obtained by victims’ charities under freedom of information laws show some police forces send out fewer than 10 messages a year.

Breaching one of the orders constitutes a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison.

Safeguarding Minister Laura Farris today issued new statutory guidance to all 43 police forces requiring a lower standard of evidence when issuing these orders.

she told Sky News during a visit to a helpline track Victim: “There used to be criminal standards that police had to meet, there was no question about that.

“We are now lowering that standard so they only have to convince the judge on the balance of probabilities – a 50-50 test – that a tracking prevention order is appropriate.

“We know that stalking, particularly when it occurs in the context of a romantic relationship that has ended, can be a sign of more serious criminal behavior in the future.

“We must continue to treat stalking with the utmost severity. After doubling the maximum prison sentence and introducing new civil orders to protect victims, we know we must do more.”

One in five women and one in ten men have experienced stalking

Victims say the orders are not issued as frequently as they should be because police and courts do not believe the legal threshold has been met even after dozens of incidents are reported.

According to the personal safety charity Suzy Lamplugh Trust, named after young estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, who disappeared in 1986, an estimated one in five women and one in 10 men will lose their identity during their lifetime. Everyone has experienced tracking.

Figures obtained by the trust under freedom of information laws show that in March 2022, 12 police forces applied for fewer than 10 interim or full stalking protection orders.

Only three troops have applied for more than 30, and last year’s total orders were believed to be in the hundreds. The number of stalking cases reported to the police that year was 116,323.

Read more from Sky News:
MP accused of misusing campaign funds quits Conservative Party
New footage emerges of Metropolitan Police ‘openly Jewish’ exchange
Crime scene where human torso was found reopened

According to the latest official figures, just 1,955 people were convicted of stalking in the year to March 2023, a rate of 1.7%.

‘Conviction rate is shockingly low’

Emma Lingley-Clark, interim chief executive of the trust, said: “This has been another year of extremely low conviction rates for stalking cases and the criminal justice system continues to fail in keeping victims informed.”

Stalking is often misunderstood as a series of personal offences, such as criminal damage or malicious communications, and patterns of obsessive behavior are not understood.

“I live in fear every day”

Sky News spoke to a woman who was stalked by someone she had never met for eight years before she was granted a restraining order.

She said: “There was no increase in the incidents. There were missed calls, text messages and then I started noticing things like criminal damage to my car and property. I lived in fear every day. This man was Infiltrate their way into my life and my network.

“Police treated each incident in isolation and did not recognize patterns of behaviour. I often felt victim shamed and as if I was not taken seriously.

“One time I had a panic attack and the police department collapsed because they wouldn’t help me. I cried and said, ‘All I want is my safety.’” It fundamentally changed me. “

It was later confirmed that the stalker was known to police and that he had done this before.

Increased number of tracking reports

Paul Mills, head of stalking and harassment at the National Police Chiefs Council, told Sky News the number of reports of stalking, particularly cyberstalking where victims are tracked at least partly online, was increasing, and new software was being rolled out to help police monitoring.

He said: “Stalking is a very serious crime. We know the impact on victims can last for many, many years and they end up living in fear.

“Often, it may take a victim of stalking a hundred times before they actually contact the police. And behind this, there is a threatening risk. We know that stalkers are often persistent and their behavior tends to escalate very quickly.

“We are working hard to work with police forces across England and Wales to improve understanding of stalking from the point of contact through investigations so we can understand the context in which stalking occurs and what the risks are.”