Member

The effectiveness of the SSPOs will depend entirely on military personnel being able to recognise stalking, assess risk and respond appropriately, and, given the amendments in the following group, that might also be people who are not police. It could be the commanding officer on a unit who is supposed to be acting on a hearing of behaviour and who may not recognise stalking when they see it. Without it, there remains a significant risk that the new powers will not be implemented effectively in practice. As I have said before, that definitely happens within civilian policing. We are still hearing cases of victims being told that they should be grateful for the admiration of their stalker, and that means that victims do not return to see the police again—they are too frightened to do so.