Stalking and Harassment

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Street Safe

Street Safe online is a tool to report areas where they feel unsafe in the county. 

The Street Safe tool enables anyone to anonymously flag public places and mark on a map the areas where they feel unsafe while remaining anonymous, and while anyone can use it, women and girls are particularly being encouraged to use the online platform.

Launched by the Home Office and Police Digital Service, the tool, which is being piloted across England and Wales until the end of November. 

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What is stalking & harassment?

Harassment can be any repeated behaviour that is unwanted and makes you feel threatened, scared or upset. Behaviours include:

• frequently contacting or attempting to contact you
   
• driving past your home or work
   
• following or watching you
   
• sending you unwanted letters or gifts
   
• damaging your property.

Stalking is a particular kind of harassment and generally describes a long term pattern of persistent and repeated behaviour.

Examples of stalking behaviour may include: 

• unwanted phone calls, letters, e-mails, text messages, or any form of communication
   
• loitering near the victim or where they live or work
   
• spying on the victim
   
• following the victim
   
• accosting the victim in private or public
   
• entering the victim’s home or workplace
   
• sending or leaving materials or gifts
   
• ordering or cancelling goods and services
   
• threats
   
• property damage
   
• violence.

Experiencing any of these in particular circumstances and with repetition may be a sign of stalking.

• Protection from Harassment Act 1997 makes stalking a specific offence.
   
• Section 2A labels stalking as a criminal offence for the first time in English and Welsh Law.
   
• Section 4A deals with stalking that has caused fear of violence OR serious distress.  Serious distress is behaviour that causes a "substantial adverse effect" on the victim's day to day activity.
   
• While some behaviours that constitute harassment will be similar to those manifesting in stalking situations, a key difference between these offences is that a stalker is more likely to be obsessively fixated on one specific individual – their victim. The stalker may have delusions that they are in a relationship with the victim when no relationship actually exists for example and even if the victim moves or changes their name, the stalker will do everything possible to track them down.