Four out of five cases in London were recorded as less serious offences over a period of eight years
More than 80 per cent of stalking cases in London were miscategorised for almost eight years, prompting concern that Metropolitan Police officers are failing to spot the harm posed to victims.
Data seen by The Times suggests that 82 per cent of stalking reports were initially treated as non-stalking offences between July 2015 and March 2023. They were later revised to stalking offences.
Claire Waxman, the victim’s commissioner for London, said the figures pointed to a lack of training for response officers in identifying <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/o/FKOt5/www.thetimes.co.uk/article/early-prison-releases-put-abuse-victims-in-danger-ministers-told-w8vs8qm83" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">stalking behaviour.
In the year to April 2023, the Met recorded 74 per cent of stalking offences under section 2a of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which relates to behaviour that amounts to harassment, according to interim data from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.
More than a quarter (26 per cent) of cases were recorded under section 4a, meaning stalking that creates a fear of violence or serious alarm/distress that has a substantial adverse impact on the victim’s day-to-day activities. The full report will be published this summer.
Full article https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/london-stalking-cases-wrongly-recorded-eight-years-fqdlgzd8w
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