Stalking action plan

Super-complaint about the police response to stalking

A super-complaint was submitted by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium (NSC) in November 2022. The police super-complaints system is designed to examine problems of local, regional or national significance that may not be addressed by other elements of the police complaints system. You can find more information on police super-complaints and the process for making a super-complaint on the Government super-complaint webpage.

The super-complaint was subsequently confirmed as eligible for investigation by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), the College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in January 2023. This super-complaint was comprehensively investigated jointly by HMICFRS, the College of Policing and the IOPC, considering the concerns raised by the NSC to understand both the barriers to, and facilitators of, the police providing an effective response to stalking.

On 27 September 2024, HMICFRS, the College of Policing and the IOPC published a report of their findings into a super-complaint on stalking. This detailed clear evidence supporting the concerns raised in the super-complaint and called for change and improvements, building on examples of innovative and promising practice within forces. Within the report, 29 recommendations were made to Chief Constables, the Home Office, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Ministry of Justice, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and Police and Crime Commissioners.

As a force we are committed to providing an excellent service to victims of stalking and continually improving our response to this crime both in terms of investigations and prevention. We take all reports of stalking seriously and we are committed to delivering a robust response to stalking perpetrators and a professional and compassionate service to victims. We have teams working across the force who are dedicated to thoroughly investigating all reports of stalking, and they also work in close partnership with local authorities and the third sector to ensure victims are suitably supported and safeguarded.

However, we appreciate there is more to be done to improve our response to stalking and the protection of victims. We welcome the recommendations for improvement that have resulted from the super-complaint, as well as the wider work undertaken by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

Within our action plan, we have set out our response to each of the recommendations included within ‘The police response to stalking’ report – explaining what we are currently doing to address each recommendation, and what our plans are to improve further.

If you, or someone you know, has been a victim of stalking or harassment there are a different ways you can report it to the police. You can find information on our website about the different ways you can report stalking or harassment. Your information could help us bring the offender to justice and make sure you, and other people in a similar situation, are kept safe.

We understand it can be difficult to report stalking or harassment, and our officers and partner organisations are here to listen and work together to support you in any way we can. We have officers trained to support you, and we can put you in touch with other support organisations that understand your specific needs. You can find out more about the support available for victims of stalking and harassment on our website.

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