Stalking Risk research
Towards a systems change response to stalking in policing: an engagement with the tangle of typologies, risk and risk assessment
This project was commissioned by the Home Office to develop a new model for assessing risk in stalking offenders. The project aimed to:
- assess existing academic and practice-based evidence on stalking perpetration;
- assess the efficacy of current tools and systems for assessing and managing risk;
- identify innovation and evidence-based solutions to enhance consistency and effectiveness in this field.
A multi-method approach was used including a deep dive into the super-complaint about the police response to stalking, and the formal responses to it; a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) of scholarship on stalking perpetration including typologies and risk assessment (n=98 reviewed); a survey of police forces, stalking and domestic abuse (DA) sector organisations on risk assessment and risk management (n=73); a series of roundtables with key stakeholders (n=32), the first exploring approaches to risk assessment and management and the second interim findings and a possible direction of travel for the model; and a review of 10 guidance documents across the criminal justice system (CJS) on stalking and risk assessment.
It suggests that the current situation regarding risk is sub-optimal, with none of the freely available risk assessment options having clear validation and the alternatives carrying resource implications. It suggests instead a move towards a systems-change model that speaks to issues raised in the super-complaint and could be implemented without investment other than high-level leadership and revised guidance, future-proofing it in relation to anticipated changes in legislation and approaches to risk assessment.