A victim of stalking has accused Norfolk Police of compromising the safety of their two-year-old son by failing to ensure that effective new anti-stalking measures are in place against their abusive ex-boyfriend.
New research shows the force has only issued two Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) since it was launched last January, although reports of stalking in the county have quadrupled to more than 1,100 in one year.
The orders prevent stalkers from contacting victims online or through an intermediary and can even be issued in cases where the limit of evidence for a criminal conviction would not be exceeded. A violation of an order can result in a prison sentence of five years.
Megan Campbell, 24, said it was “ridiculous” that the armed forces were given an opportunity to intervene in her case but had “done nothing” so her ex was free to molest her exactly as the new powers created were to prevent this from happening.
Reports of stalking in the county have quadrupled in the past year
– Photo credit: Getty Images / iStockphoto
Since its inception by the Home Office in January 2020, any police force can apply to a court for an SPO against an accused stalker, but new research by the BBC data unit has revealed a “zip code lottery” in its use.
Four of the UK’s 43 armed forces account for more than half of the 427 applications, while others, including Suffolk, have not applied for a single SPO.
Between January 2020 and May 2021, only four applications were made by the Norfolk Constabulary, one of which was rejected and one was still under review by the courts.
Reports of stalking have now skyrocketed, in part due to a reclassification of partner or former partner harassment as stalking.
That brought 1,166 reports of stalking in Norfolk between March and December 2020, up from 283 in the previous year and 230 in the previous year.
Suffolk had 656 reports of stalking, up from 233 the year before, and Cambridgeshire had 535 reports of stalking, up from 316 the year before. Cambridgeshire Police applied for seven SPOs and granted all seven applications.
Artist and charity donor Megan Campbell said she was “gross” when she learned the police had powers they could have used against her abusive ex.
Ms. Campbell was beaten and emotionally abused week after week by her former partner during a nine-year relationship that began when she was only 15 years old.
He was finally convicted of beating and damaging assault and property in 2019, and she and her five-month-old son fled their Milton Keynes home to start a new life in Norwich.
But she told this newspaper that he continued to harass her using methods that SPOs were designed to combat.
She claims that he contacted a friend on his behalf in 2020, that his mother called her while he was behind the scenes scolding that he had an interim comment on old social media posts to bring them back to their attention, and that he had sent Christmas cards to her and her son, all against an injunction.
She said she reported all of these incidents to both Norfolk Police and Thames Valley Police, where the case originated.
Domestic violence victim Megan Campbell with her two year old son Stanley through the “Stand Up To Abuse” graffiti she painted to highlight Leeway near Anglia Square
– Photo credit: DENISE BRADLEY / Archant2021
Ms. Campbell said, “I am angry and feel like you have put my son at risk for the past two years. I am totally disgusted to be honest.
“If only they’d done that [issued an SPO] in January 2020 I would not have had 14 months of it.
“It is ridiculous that the Norfolk and Thames Valley Police have only been able to get this order all along to stop him from stalking.
“You didn’t do anything and let me down. That would have protected me and my son and helped me to heal. “
Norfolk Police stressed that SPOs had to be requested by the police in the area where the perpetrator lived. In this case, that is Thames Valley, which hadn’t applied for a single SPO as of May of this year.
Ms. Campbell continued, “Since my local Norfolk force did not make me realize that this was a possibility. They were in constant contact with Thames Valley. If they knew that stalking was a high risk, why couldn’t they work together to protect me? and my little son? “
SPOs are designed to enable the police to take action against stalkers at the earliest possible point in time, even if a case may not reach the criminal conviction threshold.
For the Order, forces turn to a civil court, and courts can also issue an injunction to protect victims while a decision is being made.
SPOs remain in place for two years, and violating the order can result in a prison sentence of up to five years.
Sprowston Central Councilor Natasha Harpley has campaigned for the past few years to make it illegal to send “tail pics”
– Credit: Natasha Harpley
Anti-harassment activist Natasha Harpley, works councilor for Broadland District Council, called the numbers “disappointing, especially at a time when women in particular were feeling significantly abandoned about their own safety”.
She continued, “Of the women I know who have experienced stalking and harassment recently, many feel that their cases have not been taken seriously and have been fobbed off or accepted into family court cases.
“I am very concerned that the Norfolk Police will not use their new powers and I really hope that it does not make victims lose even more confidence in a system they were already disaffected with.”
Lisa King, communications director at the domestic violence charity Refuge, warned that “it’s not good to pass the law and then turn it into a dusty piece of paper”.
She added, “This really should be a wake-up call for police across the country to set up training and then also report that these commands are there for women and men to use to get them picked up.” is given.”
In England, only 294 orders have been issued since January 2020, although more than 55,000 stalking incidents were recorded by the police between April and December 2020.
The latest figures show that 59,950 incidents were recorded in England and Wales in the same nine months, almost twice as many as in March 2020. Part of the increase is due to a reclassification of partner or former partner harassment as stalking.
Andy Coller, Norfolk Constabulary Chief Security Officer
– Photo credit: Copyright: Archant 2018
Andy Coller, Head of Security at Norfolk Constabulary, said, “SPOs are just one option we can take to protect victims and they must be requested by the police in the area where the perpetrator lives. They were introduced as an additional tool in January last year and we submitted our first application in March. “
He said the force worked with the CPS and the judges to develop a common understanding of how to use the commands most effectively and that the “relatively low” current numbers are likely to increase.
A Thames Valley Police Department spokesman said the force has requested “a number” of SPOs this year, and that SPOs are just one of several tactics officers that can be used alongside restraining orders, domestic violence restrains, and non-harassment orders.