Stalking - crime prevention advice and evidence preservation
Stalking
Being a victim of crime can be an upsetting and traumatic experience, Nottinghamshire Police take all reports of harassment seriously.
Stalking is a pattern of Fixated, Obsessive, Unwanted, and Repeated behaviour.
What happens next?
An officer will attend and speak to you about your report. Your report will be dealt with sensitively and you will be asked questions to complete a risk assessment. This ensures risks are properly identified to effectively safeguard you.
Evidence Preservation
What you can do:
- If stalking takes place online or over the phone, it is important to save copies of any contact made
- The officer will ask you to provide a statement and will explain what happens if you provide a statement, which gives us best evidence to build a case towards prosecution or other outcomes
- You will be offered the opportunity to provide a Victim Personal Statement (VPS), which is your opportunity to explain how the stalking has affected you
Crime Prevention
What you can do:
There are some steps you can do to protect yourself from stalking, these include:
- Take a mobile phone out with you and make sure it is charged
- Alter your daily routine if you can
- Tell a trusted friends your plans
- Turn off any GPS tracking on your devices. Consider changing your passwords if you feel someone has accessed your online accounts
- If you feel you are being followed, head straight for a commercial property or Police station and ask for help
- Do not engage in ongoing contact with the perpetrator
- Ideally do not block them from contacting you but keep a diary to log all contacts to help us show a course of conduct (which means it’s happened more than once)
Support for you
Further support and advice can be obtained from:
Stalking and harassment - Nottinghamshire Police website
Local: Non Domestic Abuse Stalking Advisory Service - Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid (nottswa.org)
National: Suzy Lamplugh Trust
National stalking helpline – 0800 802 0300
You can contact Nottinghamshire Victim Care if you have been affected by crime on 0800 304 7575 or via their website: Home Page (nottsvictimcare.org.uk)
Contact us:
You can find information on The Code of Practice for Victims and Crime at The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales and supporting public information materials on the GOV.UK website.
Download
For a PDF version of the above information please click the below link.