Norfolk has seen a 312% increase in stalking in 5 years.
National crime outcomes data shows the number of stalking incidents recorded by police has surged since 2015
Last updated 15th Jun 2021
Between April and December last year, 1166 stalking incidents were reported to the Police in Norfolk. Just 5 years before, the figures show just 47. This huge surge is thought to be down to various factors including social media, technology as well as more public awareness leading to people coming forward.
Tracy is CEO of Pandora’s Project, a charity for domestic abuse victims in North and West Norfolk, and thinks the real number could be much higher.
“Victims tend not to report stalking until the 100th incident… or they might not report because they think people won’t take it seriously.”
Since January 2020, police have had extra power to intervene with stalking behaviour before it reaches a court proceeding or conviction. Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) was introduced to combat the rising crime, however National Crime outcomes data show these powers haven’t been utilised as expected.
In Norfolk, just four SPOs were applied for in the first 4 months, only two of which were granted.
It’s much the same for the rest of England where overall, just 294 orders have been granted since January 2020, despite more than 55,000 stalking incidents being recorded by police in the nine months to December 2020 alone.
The Metropolitan Police Service found that 40% of the victims of domestic homicides had also been stalked.
Rhys Lloyd is from Leeway, a domestic violence and abuse service charity:
“It’s really dangerous, It can’t really be understated how significant an impact it has on those that experience it.”
Rhys also tells us the surge in stalking may have a lot to do with social media and technologies. Apps like Snapchat and Instagram make it possible for locations to be tracked:
“That sort of thing is not helping because people then know where other people are nearly all the time, which is very scary. It can make it a lot easier for perpetrators to monitor what people are doing”
“It’s never been easier to stalk and monitor someone, and that’s probably why we’re seeing more people come forward.”
"If you have a feeling, no matter how small it is, that you’re experiencing this or you know somebody who is- please get in touch"
The National Stalking Helpline is open weekdays between 09:30 to 16:00 on 0808 802 0300