Less than 7% of stalking cases in Derbyshire end up with a charge
The latest statistic show that out of 2692 cases of stalking, 185 of those result in a charge
The rate of reported stalkers charged by police across the UK has almost halved over the last two years, according to government data.
New figures found charge rates have fallen from 11% to 6% between 2020-2022, a continuing year-on-year trend from 2014/15 where it was as high as 37%.
According to the data, a third of all cases are dropped because of difficulties in collecting evidence – despite the victim supporting action.
More than half of reported cases end with the victims not supporting further action.
Of the cases that do end up in court, the conviction rate for stalking offences is 66% across England and Wales.
The use of Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) by police forces has also fallen in the last year. Freedom of Information request responses from 27 of the 42 police forces in England and Wales show a 35% drop in the number of SPOs applied for – with 310 fewer applications.
SPOs are designed to allow police to act at the earliest opportunity, and breaching one is a criminal offence that could land the offender with up to five years in prison.
Despite the drop in applications, the number of orders granted by courts has risen over the same time period, with 382 more granted in 2022 compared to 2021.
Meanwhile the number of stalking incidents reported to the police have more than tripled, jumping from 32,000 cases in England and Wales three years ago to nearly 100,000 in 2021-22.
The Home Office said the rise is linked to a change in the way stalking offences are recorded, and that they take their response to stalking “extremely seriously”, pointing to the introduction of SPOs and the doubling of maximum sentences.
The data comes as specific stalking legislation was introduced in England and Wales ten years ago today (November 21).