New police powers will help tackle stalking in Nottinghamshire

Stalking is now set to be tackled by new legislation that will protect victims from stalking perpetrators.

The Stalking Protection Act 2019 has introduced a new civil Stalking Protection Order (SPO) which can be applied for by police forces and was lauched on January 20.

The aim of SPOs is to enable early police intervention to address stalking behaviours before they become entrenched or escalate, protecting victims from more serious harm.

Detective Inspector Amy Styles-Jones is based in the Public Protection department at Nottinghamshire Police and has been a force lead for stalking for the past 18 months.

She said: “Stalking is a criminal offence that, due to the advances with technology – particularly smart phones and the internet – perpetrators will find it easy to discover a lot of information about someone through a quick scroll on social media.

“Stalking is sinister and dangerous and if not stopped can lead to serious violence and unfortunately on some occasions, death.

“Stalking is different from harassment in that the perpetrator will be fixated and obsessed about their victim and this will cause a huge impact on their day to day living.

“Stalkers can be motivated by a range of factors; from being an ex-partner to an ex-employee who will be jealous or feel resentful.

“The stalker might be someone that is lonely and craves intimacy and can be delusional about the other person’s feelings toward them, or they might be a sexually predatory individual.

“Anyone can be a victim of Stalking and we would encourage everyone to review their security settings online and on social media sites in particular.

“If you think you or someone you know may be a victim or perpetrator of stalking you should ring 101 to report to Police or you can get help and advice from the Stalking Advocacy Service on 0115 9476490 (for women) or 0115 9605556 (for men).”

You can also get help and information from National services such as the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 8020300 or visit www.stalkinghelpline.org.