Improving the ‘victim journey’ when reporting domestic abuse cyberstalking to the police – A pilot project evaluation
| Published date | 01 November 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221129436 |
| Author | Holly Taylor-Dunn,Rosie Erol |
| Date | 01 November 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221129436
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2023, Vol. 23(5) 694 –715
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/17488958221129436
journals.sagepub.com/home/crj
Improving the ‘victim journey’
when reporting domestic
abuse cyberstalking to the
police – A pilot project
evaluation
Holly Taylor-Dunn
The Open University, UK
Rosie Erol
University of Worcester, UK
Abstract
Criminal justice responses to stalking in England and Wales have come under increased scrutiny
following the Joint Criminal Justice Inspectorate report in 2017. In response, police forces
throughout England and Wales attempted to improve their handling of stalking. In one UK police
force, a project was developed to improve the identification, investigation and victim journey for
domestic abuse cyberstalking offences. The project included a specialist investigation team along
with a dedicated and co-located Independent Domestic Violence Advisor. This article draws
on research conducted during the evaluation of the project and will evidence high levels of
victim engagement, positive reports from victims and a 100% success rate in obtaining restraining
orders. These findings highlight the valuable role of specialist teams with integrated, independent
support for victims and suggest that the victim journey can be improved through collaborative
projects between the police and specialist organisations.
Keywords
Cyberstalking, domestic abuse, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors, policing
Corresponding author:
Holly Taylor-Dunn, Policing Organisation and Practice Team, Faculty of Business and Law, The Open
University, Walton Hall, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK.
Email: Holly.taylor-dunn@open.ac.uk
1129436CRJ0010.1177/17488958221129436Criminology & Criminal JusticeTaylor-Dunn and Erol
research-article2022
Article
Taylor-Dunn and Erol 695
Introduction
Domestic abuse cyberstalking
The crime of stalking has evolved in recent years, assisted by developments in technol-
ogy that make it easier for stalkers to monitor, track and terrify their victims. As with
stalking, there is no universally agreed definition of cyberstalking, but Maple et al.
(2011) suggest it can be defined as ‘the repeated pursuit of an individual utilizing elec-
tronic means to induce fear or distress’. Short et al. (2014) identified a range of direct and
indirect communication methods used by cyberstalkers. Direct methods included send-
ing threats via email, distributing intimate images online, hacking the victim’s email,
sending viruses and making false accusations about the victim. Indirect methods included
encouraging others to threaten or harass the victim, impersonating the victim online and
seeking and compiling information on the victim (Short et al., 2014).
In England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics (ONS, 2020) estimate that
9.6% of men and 19.9% of women have experienced stalking since the age of 16. It is
further estimated that 977,000 women and 526,000 men experienced stalking in the last
year, and of these, 30% were stalked by a partner/ex-partner or family member (ONS,
2020). Most stalkers will use both online and offline methods to stalk their victims
(Messing et al., 2020; Quinn-Evans et al., 2021), yet the ONS does not gather data on the
frequency of cyberstalking, meaning it is difficult to determine its true prevalence in the
United Kingdom. Recent research by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust (SLT, 2021) suggests that
online stalking behaviours have increased considerably, with 100% of calls to the National
Stalking Helpline now involving an online element. Similarly, Bracewell et al. (2020)
reported an increase in online stalking behaviours during the first UK Covid-19 lock-
down. Police data in this area are limited, but in 2018, records indicated that 15% of har-
assment and stalking offences in England and Wales had an online element (ONS, 2019).
This is likely to be an underestimate as it is not thought that police recording of online
abuse is reliable (ONS, 2019). Indeed, legislation in England and Wales does not distin-
guish between online and offline stalking; there is no specific criminal offence of cyber-
stalking, and concerns have been raised as to whether the existing legislation has been
able to keep pace with developments in technology (Bliss, 2019; Messing et al., 2020).
Importantly, however, recent amendments to the Online Safety Bill (2022) in England and
Wales, which is currently going through the legislative process, propose to create a new
offence to capture communications sent to cause harm without a reasonable excuse. It is
hoped that such an offence will improve the ease with which offenders of domestic abuse
can be prosecuted for sending communications which ‘may not seem obviously harmful
but when looked at in light of a pattern of abuse could cause serious distress’ (Department
for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 2022). Returning to existing legislation in England
and Wales, it is important to note that police officers have two offences to consider when
presented with online or offline pursuit behaviours – harassment or stalking. There is
considerable ambiguity regarding where the line is drawn between the two offences,
resulting in stalking being incorrectly categorised as harassment (Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and Her Majesty’s
Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI), 2017; HMICFRS and HMCPSI,
2019). For the purpose of this article, the terms stalking and cyberstalking will be used
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