WEST Yorkshire Police has said it enforces Stalking Prevention Orders “where appropriate” after it was revealed only three have been granted despite thousands of reported incidents.

Stalking Prevention Orders (SPOs) came into force in January 2020 to put restrictions on suspected stalkers to curb their behaviour.

As a civil order a lower burden of proof is needed than a criminal conviction, but despite this only three have been granted by West Yorkshire Police; meanwhile reports of stalking are rising, with more than 3,000 last year alone.

Anti-stalking charities have said the figures are “incredibly concerning” and a better understanding of stalking is needed.

West Yorkshire Police said it takes stalking “very seriously” and has brought in training to better identify stalking and is “improving charging and detection rates of all domestic abuse incidents”.

The figures, revealed in a Freedom of Information request show just three SPOs have been issued in West Yorkshire.

This is despite between April and December last year 3,196 reports of stalking being received, up from 1,171 the year before and an increase of 3,195 per cent from 2015 when just 97 reports were received.

In the 2020/21 financial year 124 people were charged with stalking, 3.9 per cent of total reported incidents, with 103 the year before, but this means more than 95 per cent of potential offenders have gone unpunished for stalking.

SPOs were brought in to “stop perpetrators in their tracks”, the Home Office said, and it “expects police forces to make full use of them”.

Suky Bhaker, chief executive of anti-stalking charity The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said: “The numbers are incredibly concerning.

“The figure is incredibly low in comparison to the number of individuals we know who would potentially require that protection.

“The purpose of the stalker protection orders is to offer that early intervention for those victims.

“It’s not the case that the stalking cases aren’t coming through given the stalking rates that exist.

“What is happening here is a lack of understanding about stalking. Victims tell us this time and time again that when they are calling up the police, often the context for context of behaviour isn’t being understood.

“Stalking is about a pattern of behaviour. It’s about a fixation obsession. And often when victims call the police an isolated incident is what’s been recorded, rather than the full pattern of putting that together.

“It’s absolutely imperative that when those orders are breached, the full force of law is used and offenders are prosecuted otherwise it sends a message that perpetrators can act with impunity, that there’s not going to be repercussions for those actions.”

Detective Chief Inspector Allan Raw, from West Yorkshire’s Safeguarding Central Governance Unit, said: “West Yorkshire Police takes very seriously its responsibility to safeguard its communities and ensure members of the public can live in an environment free of harassment.

“The force has actively responded to the ‘Living in Fear – the Police and CPS response to harassment and stalking’ document published in 2017. We have put in dedicated training for officers and control room staff to better identify cases of stalking.

“We also regularly review cases and are working closely with the CPS to secure the best outcomes for victims. We are also working with them to improve both investigation quality, and charging and detection rates with regards to all domestic abuse cases, including stalking and harassment, as are many other police forces.

“The force also seeks to apply for and use SPOs where appropriate and does look at ways of increasing their use.

“The number of charges obtained for stalking and harassment offences has increased year on year for the last three years but, similar to other polices forces nationally, we have seen a significant increase in the number of stalking offences recorded.

“Much of this increase in West Yorkshire relates to improvements in crime recording practices by the Force which has seen it rated as Outstanding by HMICFRS for its crime and data integrity, as well as increased confidence by victims to come forward and report these offences to police.

“Over the last two years processes to review domestic abuse risk assessments have highlighted further cases of stalking and all ex-partner harassment reports are now recording as stalking.

“However, we accept this is an under-reported crime and the actual number of offences will be higher.

“Our communities should feel reassured that we and our partner agencies will provide the support and help they need.

“Whenever there is evidence of a crime we will always do our best to find the most appropriate outcome for the victim, in what can be very distressing situations.”

Victims of stalking are encouraged to call police to report incidents on 101, and can also call The Suzy Lamplugh Trust's national helpline on 0808 8020300.