Calls for "stalkers register" to keep track of serial offenders in York
The idea's being debated by MPs today (Thursday, 15 April)
Campaigners across Harrogate and the Dales want a new national register to keep track of serial stalkers who pose a risk to the public.
MPs are debating the idea today (Thursday, 15 April) as an amendment to the new Domestic Abuse Bill.
It would put a duty on government to monitor and manage convicted stalkers and serious domestic abusers.
Charities have been calling for the move for years, with a petition getting more than 200,000 signatures.
Samantha Bumford is backing the idea - she was stalked by a man with a string of previous convictions. He was sentenced to just six months in prison.
She spoke to us during our special programme on women's safety last month (March):
"It was one of the worst days of my life. I sat in court and they read out previous convictions. I just looked at my dad and just absolutely broke down and I cried my eyes out in the courtroom. I just couldn't believe I was hearing it.
"This guy's not learning....it terrifies me that he's out there and he's found another victim and he's doing the same thing."
A so-called "stalkers register" could work in the same way as the sex offenders register currently does - it's thought it'd help agencies like the police and social services pro-actively identify, track, monitor and manage stalkers.
The admendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill was passed by the House of Lords and is now returning to the House of Commons.
Some experts are worried about the scope of a stalkers register though and what would qualify someone to be put on it.
Sam Goulding's North Yorkshire manager for abuse charity IDAS - she says support services could give information to a register rather than just relying on convictions:
"In a lot of cases people may not report the fact that they're being stalked and therefore these perpetrators don't hit the radar of the criminal justice system. And that's really important to recognise when thinking about how this register may work - what threshold needs to be met for that person to be placed on that register.
"IDAS support isn't solely reliant on referrals from the criminal justice system or the police. We do feel that domestic abuse specialist organisations will hold a lot of pertinent information that potentially could contribute to the register and the information held."