London (Parliament Politics Magzine) – Mayor Sadiq Khan has recommended the Government to contain “failures in the criminal justice system” which have exacerbated the problem of stalking in London, according to a new report this week.
What are the key findings of the London Stalking Review?
The London Stalking Review, written by the mayor’s independent victims’ commissioner, Claire Waxman, has discovered that two-thirds of stalking infractions in the capital are perpetrated by repeat offenders. As well as switching the effects of austerity on the criminal justice system, Mr Khan stated he also wanted to see more work done to stop a societal shift towards misogyny.
What reforms does the mayor’s independent victims’ commissioner recommend?
Ms Waxman’s review suggested that stalking legislation “be reformed to ensure it is operating to protect victims”. She said: “The Government should make a standalone stalking offence that provides a clear description of stalking to simplify investigations and prosecutions and remove the onus on the victim to prove the impact of the behaviour, which is at too high a threshold.”
Why does Claire Waxman advocate for standalone stalking offences?
The commissioner also cautioned that victims are currently “forced to be continued to have stalking identified by the police and have its impact taken seriously”. Ms Waxman discovered that 45 per cent of stalking cases concluded with the victim withdrawing from the justice process, while 41 per cent noticed no further police action on their complaints – with a lack of proof often cited as the reason, although most stalking cases at least partly concern phone calls and text messages.
What did Mayor Sadiq Khan say about the national epidemic of violence against women?
Reacting to the report, the mayor stated it was “really important we understand there is a national epidemic of brutality against women and girls,” pointing to a current, separate report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, which states that such violence has risen by almost 40 per cent in the last five years.
“Stalking is part of that [trend],” stated Mr Khan. “Some of the failures in the criminal justice system that Claire Waxman has highlighted – they need to be handled. Prevention and early intervention is really important. The public health practice is really important – you know, [preventing] children growing up thinking Andrew Tate is expressing sensible things. Children growing up thinking it’s OK to treat girls a specific way seeps into [their mindset] when boys become men.
“But also when women convey stalking, it’s not being addressed by the police, and so [there are] some issues from that – but also what happens when somebody is arrested and it reaches court. If somebody is taking two, three years before there’s a trial, don’t be surprised if the attrition rates are so high.” Questioned whether he was conscious of the severity of the issue before the review’s publication, the mayor stated: “One of the reasons why Claire launched her review was [because] we were concerned regarding some of the stories we were hearing about stalking.
How is the Met Police Service responding to the stalking crisis in London?
“One of the causes why the Met Police Service created the stalking centres in our BCUs [basic command centres]… was because of problems they had. But the work Claire has done is there in black and white for everyone to witness. This is not just my thoughts or individual officers’, this is the view based upon glancing at the evidence.”