How to spot signs of stalking as Nottinghamshire Police supports national awareness week

The theme for this year’s week of action, which runs until April 26, is ‘Join Forces Against Stalking’ to demonstrate the importance of multi-agency working to protect victims.

Stalking is a pattern of fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repetitive behaviour. It can include harassment that amounts to stalking or stalking that causes fear of violence, serious alarm or distress.

The signs of stalking are varied and not always immediately identifiable.

A stalker will often be obsessed with the person they are targeting; they can be someone known to the victim – a former partner, friend, neighbour, work colleague, former acquaintance, or a stranger.

Signs of stalking may include following a person in public or to work, contacting or attempting to contact a person, such as repeated messages or phone calls, damage to a person’s property, monitoring a person’s use of the internet, email or electronic communication, watching or spying on a person, receiving unwanted gifts and presents, publishing a statement or other material to tarnish a person’s reputation, interfering with a person’s property, such as moving garden ornaments or leaving gates open, any form of overt or covert surveillance, threats to harm a person, loitering in a public or private place, showing up unannounced at home or work or seeking employment at the same job.

Established five years ago, the force operates a multi-agency approach to better support victims of stalking and progress stalking investigations more quickly to improve outcomes for individuals.

The monthly stalking clinic involves the police, NHS consultant psychiatrists, expert university lecturers, adult and children social care, the probation service, legal services and the stalking advocacy service.

It provides advice to identify stalker behaviour, assess and reduce risk and harm to victims, shares information with partner agencies, assists in the progression of investigations and discusses the future management of offenders to reduce reoffending by identifying patterns of behaviour, and ensures wraparound safeguarding measures are implemented.

Inspector Abi Goucher, Nottinghamshire Police’s safeguarding lead, said: “Stalking is a distressing crime that has a significant impact on the day-to-day wellbeing of victims and their families.

“Having a stalker is not flattering or glamorous and depictions of stalking behaviour that are portrayed on Netflix, in films or the media are often misleading.

“Nottinghamshire Police are acutely aware that stalking can devastate people’s lives, which is why all reports of stalking are taken incredibly seriously by our specially trained officers, who are available to provide safeguarding, support and reassurance.”

If you think you are a victim of stalking, please call Nottinghamshire Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.

If you are in immediate danger always dial 999 and speak with a call handler.

If you are not able to talk when you need urgent police help, the Silent Solution service is available. After dialling, listen to the questions from the call handler and respond by coughing or tapping your device, if you can. If prompted, press 55 to let the call handler know it is a genuine emergency and you will be connected to the police.