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08/03/2012
New Law To Make Stalking Specific Criminal Offence
The Prime Minister has announced that stalking is to be made a specific criminal offence. Describing it as “an abhorrent crime” David Cameron said stalking "makes life a living hell for the victims".
The PM will meet victims of stalking today at No.10 in a reception to mark International Women’s Day.
The decision to explicitly criminalise stalking comes after a parliamentary review saying that harassment and intimidation can often turn into murder.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has called for an amendment to the Protection of Freedoms Bill which would create a new offence as soon as Monday.
She said, "We need rapid progress and we need a new law which is strong enough; half-hearted measures won't be enough."
The parliamentary inquiry heard that approximately 120,000 people, mostly women, are stalked each year but that only 53,000 are recorded as crimes and of these only one in 50 leads to an offender being jailed.
David Cameron said that stalking had the effect of "breaking up relationships, forcing the victims to move house, making them feel they are being watched 24 hours of the day".
"That is why we are explicitly criminalising stalking, to make sure that justice is done, protect the victims and show beyond doubt that stalking is a crime."
The government also announced that men from Britain accused of rape or assaulting women abroad could be put on trail in the UK.
(H)
The PM will meet victims of stalking today at No.10 in a reception to mark International Women’s Day.
The decision to explicitly criminalise stalking comes after a parliamentary review saying that harassment and intimidation can often turn into murder.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has called for an amendment to the Protection of Freedoms Bill which would create a new offence as soon as Monday.
She said, "We need rapid progress and we need a new law which is strong enough; half-hearted measures won't be enough."
The parliamentary inquiry heard that approximately 120,000 people, mostly women, are stalked each year but that only 53,000 are recorded as crimes and of these only one in 50 leads to an offender being jailed.
David Cameron said that stalking had the effect of "breaking up relationships, forcing the victims to move house, making them feel they are being watched 24 hours of the day".
"That is why we are explicitly criminalising stalking, to make sure that justice is done, protect the victims and show beyond doubt that stalking is a crime."
The government also announced that men from Britain accused of rape or assaulting women abroad could be put on trail in the UK.
(H)
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