MPs question motive for call to debate when life begin, Victims of stalkers could win new protection following completion of a major inquiry, which will this week recommend that a specific offence of stalking be created to combat the problem. An all-party parliamentary group is to publish a report into its six-month investigation, arguing for a change in legislation that will see perpetrators given substantial prison sentences for any abuse, whether emotional or physical, that has been endured by their victims. The findings pre-empt a separate Home Office inquiry, which completes its consultation on how to protect stalking victims today. Support for a new law in England and Wales is growing. David Cameron has already conceded that there is a gap in the current protection for stalking victims, while Home Office ministers Theresa May and Lynne Featherstone are understood to be sympathetic to demands for new legislation. Elfyn Llwyd MP, chairman of the parliamentary group – which heard evidence from lawyers, psychologists, academics and the parents of murdered stalking victims – said: "We are very firmly of the view that there needs to be a change in the law. We've looked at other countries, such as the way Scotland has done it, and they have a law which resulted in several hundred successful prosecutions in the first year." Llwyd, a former barrister, said it was critical that any changes to legislation be accompanied by an awareness campaign to ensure that crown prosecutors, police and the probation service begin to take the issue seriously. Of the estimated 120,000 cases of stalking each year, 53,000 are recorded as crimes by police and only one in 50 of these leads to an offender being jailed. High-profile cases include that of Clare Bernal, shot dead by her stalker in 2005 as she worked at the Harvey Nichols department store. Her murderer had been due in court the following week for harassing her. "We need a commitment from government that the police are aware of the insidious and dangerous thing that stalking is," said Llwyd.
Researchers recently found that two-thirds of victims said the police and prosecutors did not take their complaints sufficiently seriously. One of the organisations driving the campaign for a new stalking law has been the probation union Napo, whose research indicates that thousands of perpetrators, mainly men, are not being dealt with seriously enough by the criminal justice system. Harry Fletcher, the union's assistant general secretary, said: "The courts are not dealing with stalkers properly. Very few receive custodial sentences and those that do are not in prison long enough to receive treatment or rehabilitation." The union is concerned that prison sentences handed down to stalkers are so short that rehabilitation and treatment is impossible. Just 20 stalkers a year are jailed for longer than 12 months for putting a victim in fear of violence, Napo said. Laura Richards, of the charity Protection Against Stalking, said: "We know first hand that, for too long, victims have suffered in silence or at the hands of the criminal justice system. The inquiry has now given them a voice." Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, another ardent supporter of the need to create a specific offence of stalking in England and Wales, said it was vital that any change in the law was not delayed. She warned that it could take two years for a new law to be introduced and urged peers to back an amendment tabled tomorrow that could lead to a quicker change being implemented. Cooper said: "Nearly one in five women over 16 have been a victim of stalking. The persistent and terrifying intimidation, threats and abuse can destroy people's lives and escalate into serious violence. Although progress has been made, the criminal justice system still isn't sensitive enough to the problem and too many victims still aren't getting the protection they need. That's why a change in the law is needed."