MP calls for stalking laws to be enforced

WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones has highlighted the need for stalking laws to be enforced.
Speaking on behalf of the Labour Opposition in the House of Commons, the MP questioned the government’s commitment in this area because the Minister responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls was not present at the debate, referring to him as the “Scarlet Pimpernel of the Home Office.”
Helen Jones (pictured right) said: “Except in very exceptional cases, community sentences are not appropriate to deal with stalking. Stalking wrecks lives, it damages people psychologically, it affects their physical health, and it affects their social well-being.
“Stalkers often issue threats. What is more, half of those threats are carried out. In that sense, stalking behaviour is a strong predictor of future violence. It is even stronger in cases of very serious violence, with 40% of domestic homicides following stalking behaviour that has gone unchecked.”
The MP called for more training amongst police forces and the CPS, pointing out that only 27% of eligible police officers had seen a 20 minutes online package produced by the National Policing Improvement Agency – whilst 5,000 officers had seen it in Greater Manchester but only 76 had seen it in Merseyside and only 57 in Cheshire.
“The blame lies squarely with the Home Office, which has to admit that if it cuts police numbers, as it has, there is less time to take officers off the front line for training or to update their skills.
“We cannot say to the victims of this crime, ‘You must simply put up with it’, or ‘It’s not very serious.’ We can no longer keep saying that there is no action we can take. This is the 21st century, not the 19th, and nobody should be subjected to this behaviour without the right of redress.”
Only 57 police officers in Cheshire have seen an online training package, compared to 5000 in Greater Manchester.
Stalking is largely a crime against women – 80% of stalkers are men.