North Yorkshire Police teams join forces to tackle "cyberstalking"
Cases of stalking with a cyber element have doubled in the county during lockdown.
North Yorkshire Police's Stalking Support Team have joined together with the Cyber Crime Team, to tackle cyber-stalking.
To mark National Stalking Awareness Week, officers have released a new video, raising awareness of how stalkers are continuing to operate during lockdown.
They explain that crimes include installing tracking spyware on victims' mobile phones, and hacking into smart speakers and electronic doorbells.
Across North Yorkshire, reports of stalking with a cyber connection more than doubled during lockdown, with 202 between April 2019 and March 2020, compared to 427 a year later.
Featured in the video is Inspector Clare Crossan, who leads the North Yorkshire Police Stalking Support Team.
She told us: "We have specially-trained officers in our stalking support team, that are trained to deal with victims of stalking, and we have a specially-trained detective in our team that gives investigative oversight.
"We do have that expertise, and we are here to try and help these victims, but if they're not ready to speak to police, there are other agencies that are available."
Help and support
If you are being stalked, you can report it to North Yorkshire Police on 101, unless it is an emergency, in which case dial 999.
The national stalking helpline, run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, is free from all landlines and on most mobile networks: 0808 802 0300.
IDAS is a specialist charity supporting people affected by domestic violence across Yorkshire, available on 03000 110 110 (24 hour national helpline: 0808 2000 247)
Details of other support agencies are available on the North Yorkshire Police website: northyorkshire.police.uk/stalking.