New policing powers to tackle stalking in North a ‘win’ for victims, charity says

New policing powers designed to tackle stalking in Northern Ireland are a “win” for victims who no longer have to apply to courts themselves for orders against perpetrators, a charity has said.

The stalking protection orders (SPOs), which came into effect on Thursday, will also enable the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to prosecute those in breach of an order at the outset of an investigation, before a stalking conviction takes place.

Before the legislation became law, victims had to make an application to the North’s courts for non-molestation orders and potentially face costly legal bills if they were in employment and not entitled to legal aid.

One woman told The Irish Times she racked up a £6,500 (€7,460) debt in solicitors’ and barristers’ fees as she applied through the courts for orders to prevent an ex-partner stalking her over a sustained period before he was finally jailed.

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She welcomed the swiftness of the powers within the new legislation: “It means there’s immediate consequences for someone’s actions; before there was none.”

The PSNI can directly apply to the magistrates’ court for an SPO which prohibits a person from contacting the victim directly or indirectly through calls, letters, emails, messages and social media.

Exclusions zones are also included in the legislation, which means those subjected to an order are banned from entering an agreed exclusion zone. This includes where their victim works, usual routes taken and walking children to school.

Joanne Barnes of the charity Nexus, the North’s leading support organisation for victims of sexual abuse and abusive relationships, welcomed the introduction of SPOs to “prevent the escalation and severity of stalking behaviour”.

“It is the onus being taken off the victim that is the biggest win here. The victim is notified by police and it’s explained to them how the order works. It’s the level of additional security this provides. This order also sends a clear message to the perpetrator that what they’re doing is criminal and is now being investigated,” she said.

“We know over time that stalking behaviour becomes more fixated and obsessive. Victims sometimes put it down and think: ‘I’ll just ignore them, it’ll go away.’ These behaviours can be minimised but are quite often the early warning signs, particularly when you think of femicide more broadly.

“The powers of social media are now coming into stalking; we’re so much more accessible than we were 20 years ago. We play our lives out on social media. If a perpetrator ever had access to your phone, you may be unaware that they set up a tracker and will know where you are at any point in time.

“So there’s a weight of stuff that’s unseen and not known about.”

An order will last for a minimum of two years and any breach will be a criminal offence carrying a maximum five-year prison sentence.

It has been introduced through the Protection from Stalking Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, which brought the North’s stalking laws into the line with the rest of the UK.

Since the legislation was introduced in April 2022, the PSNI has arrested 230 alleged stalkers and charged 119 people.

But Ms Barnes raised concerns about whether enough resources were available to meet demand.

“All these pieces of legislation that are finally coming in are fantastic and the police are really motivated to do more in this space. But I just wonder if there is the appropriate level of resource to match the offences? At Nexus, we’re at the point where we have to prioritise referrals based on need. If you have experienced any type of assault of sexual abuse, you should be able to access our services immediately but unfortunately the resource, due to the lack of funding, is not there. So we have to put a layer of scrutiny into that.

“Consistently in the last two years, our waiting lists have been at six months and that’s really shocking to hear.”

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Det Supt Lindsay Fisher of the PSNI’s public protection branch said she hoped more victims would come forward and confirmed that 5,000 officers and staff had now been trained in recognising stalking behaviour and responding to it, adding that they took stalking “incredibly seriously”.

“The [putting into effect] of SPOs now allows our officers to take swift and decisive action, putting restrictions in place and enforcing breaches, treating them as criminal offences,” she said.

With more than 20 years’ experience investigating sexual crimes, the senior PSNI officer said stalking was not confined to physically following a person.

“I think many people when they hear the word ‘stalking’ will think of someone lurking in the shadows,” she said.

“Stalking can actually take many forms and can be online as well as in person. It is a pattern of behaviours that is fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated.

“We now have another tool in our armour to protect victims from this debilitating and dangerous crime.”