Is there a case for harsher sentences for stalking?
There are estimated to be around 120,000 cases of stalking annually, though, of that number, only about 50,000 are recorded as crimes by the police and just one in 50 results in an offender being sent to custody.
However, the government hopes to change the mindset with the Home Office having conducted a survey into how to better protect victims of stalking, while an all-party parliamentary group has conducted a separate six-month investigation into this matter. It is thought that this group will call for increased prison sentences to be handed out to stalkers and for there to be a more commonly held view this is a serious offence which causes great distress and fear to victims.
The government is believed to be sympathetic to a possible change in the law while the opposition has also voiced its support for such action, as has Napo, the probation union, which says that perpetrators have generally not been dealt with seriously enough by the criminal justice system. It seems that there is a desire for tougher action to be taken on stalkers. Is it warranted? Tell us what you think.
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