Richard Wright KC will lead independent review as part of
government mission to halve violence against women and girls in a
decade.
To help ensure stalking victims get the protection they need and
more offenders are brought to justice, a major independent review
of stalking laws is being launched today (22 October).
For far too long, victims have been subject to debilitating and
vicious abuse at the hands of stalkers who use any means
necessary to monitor and control their victims' lives. Statistics
show that 1.4 million people over 16 experienced stalking
last year, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
There is also evidence of police forces routinely failing to
recognise stalking, and mishandling cases when they do, according
to a stalking super-complaint published by the Suzy Lamplugh
Trust on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium.
It also highlighted potential gaps in current legislation - flaws
that may be hampering the criminal justice system's ability to
tackle stalking effectively and provide victims with the
protection they deserve.
That is why the Home Office is acting swiftly on its
commitment to review the law following calls from campaigners and
survivors who say the system is not doing enough to protect them.
The review will examine whether current laws are strong enough to
protect victims and ensure perpetrators are punished. It will
also look at how stalking and harassment laws work together - and
whether the system needs to be clearer and more joined-up to
tackle these dangerous and harrowing crimes.
It will determine whether the law should change so that the
police can better spot, investigate and prosecute stalking cases
going forward. Crucially, it will also test whether the law can
keep up with insidious, emerging forms of stalking, including
those carried out online or using new technology.
Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls,
said:
I've sat with victims of stalking who've shared, in painful
detail, how this wicked crime has devastated their lives.
That's why this review is vital - to make sure our laws are
strong and bold enough to protect victims and track down
perpetrators, as part of our mission to halve violence against
women and girls within a decade.
Leading criminal barrister Richard Wright KC has been appointed
to lead the review. He is one of the UK's most experienced
criminal lawyers with extensive experience working on stalking
cases, including representing the prosecution in the case
of Alice Ruggles who was tragically murdered by her
stalker.
Alice's parents, Clive Ruggles and Sue Hills said:
Our goal has always been to ensure that what happened to Alice
never happens to anyone else. Over the past 9 years, we've
witnessed significant progress - particularly with the
introduction of Stalking Protection Orders. However, the way
stalking legislation has been interpreted has consistently posed
serious challenges. This latest development is a major step
forward, and we couldn't be more pleased.
Today, the government published the terms of reference for the
review, which will be completed by March 2026. It forms part of
the wider Plan for Change to halve violence against women and
girls within a decade.
Last year the government unveiled 6 new measures to tackle
stalking - including legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill
to issue new ‘Right to Know' statutory guidance to empower
the police to release the identity of stalkers at the
earliest opportunity.
Further measures include victims being given more protection from
offenders by making Stalking Protection Orders more widely
available, defining stalking in statutory guidance and setting
out a framework to help support services including the police,
education and health services to work together and share
intelligence on cases.
National standards on stalking perpetrator programmes will also
be published to ensure that interventions properly address an
offender's stalking behaviour in a consistent and evidence-based
way across England and Wales. New data on stalking offences has
also been published by the Home Office to help inform policy and
policing decisions on this crime.
Richard Wright, KC said:
I am very grateful for my appointment to conduct this independent
review of stalking laws. The stalking super complaint has shone a
light on the experience of victims of stalking within the
criminal justice system and my review will be conducted rapidly
to identify any gaps in existing legislation and make any
necessary recommendations for change.
It is essential that the criminal law provides the necessary
level of protection to victims of this serious offence and that
as a result victims have confidence in the criminal justice
system and feel able to report dangerous stalking behaviour.
