Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to introduce a stalking protection order.

Stalking and harassment are devastating crimes which cause great distress to victims. That is why we strengthened the law by creating specific stalking offences in 2012 and raising the maximum sentence for stalking and harassment to 10 years through the Policing and Crime Act 2017.

Support for victims requires more than prosecution after the fact. That is why, we are introducing a new Stalking Protection Order to support victims of stalking at an earlier stage and address the perpetrator’s behaviours before they become entrenched. The new stalking protection order will support existing tools to ensure there are robust protections available to victims of ‘stranger stalking’.

Primary legislation is required to introduce the order and will be taken forward as soon as Parliamentary time allows.