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1. Stalking and harassment cause great distress and alarm to victims. Such behaviour can lead on to violent physical assault or even murder. The law can, of course, deal severely with the violent consequences of stalking but it is vital that every effort is made to avoid that stage being reached at all. The Scottish Executive wants to ensure that effective action is taken both to prevent violence and to protect the victims of stalking.
2. This paper sets out the key issues associated with stalking and harassment; considers how these are dealt with at present by both the criminal and civil law; and seeks views on whether improvements to the law or other changes (for instance, to policing practice) are needed in order to deal more effectively with the problems caused by such behaviour.
3. The paper sets out for comment a number of options. Those responding to the paper are invited not only to comment on these options but also to make any further suggestions for action they think would be effective. These issues are now devolved and such follow-up action will fall to the Scottish Executive.
4. What do we mean by stalking or harassment? There are no clear-cut definitions and sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably. Generally stalking and harassment means intentional behaviour, involving more than one incident, which causes fear, upset or annoyance to its victim. The concept of stalking in particular conveys to many the idea of persistent and unwanted intrusion into the victim's life whether through the perpetrator following, watching, telephoning or otherwise contacting the victim. For the purposes of this paper the terms are not taken to include other types of unwelcome behaviour, for example, loud music or other anti-social behaviour by neighbours. Rather it concentrates on repeated behaviour that causes real alarm to a particular victim. The repetition of the behaviour is a fundamental part of the offence in all the jurisdictions we have examined. Indeed it is implied in the ordinary meaning of the word 'harassment' in English that it is not a one-off incident.
Related Reviews
5. This is not an issue that can be considered in isolation and there are a number of areas where the Scottish Executive is already taking or planning action that is relevant to this problem.
Domestic Violence
6. Domestic abuse is particularly relevant, since many 'stalkers' are former partners. The Scottish Executive is committed both to prevent women from being abused and to provide help and support to victims. The Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse was set up in November 1998 with a remit to recommend minimum levels of service provision for women suffering domestic abuse, in order to encourage consistent service delivery throughout Scotland. In so doing, it has been asked to pay particular attention to the needs of women from rural areas, from ethnic minorities and with disabilities, also taking into account the impact on children and young people affected. The Partnership has been asked also to recommend effective intervention strategies to prevent male violence against female partners and their children. The Partnership now has in place a revised Workplan to help it to fulfil its remit in full and expects to make recommendations in the late summer.
Sex and Violent Offenders
7. In some cases the obsessive behaviour of stalkers may indicate a mental instability or personality disorder. The law on dangerous sexual and violent offenders has been strengthened over recent years. New powers were given to the police in 1997 to enable them to take DNA samples retrospectively from sexual and violent offenders. Extended sentences for sexual and violent offenders were introduced in 1998. In addition, the Scottish Executive has initiated further reviews of the law. It has set up an expert panel on sex offending under Lady Cosgrove and appointed two other major committees. One, chaired by Lord MacLean, is looking at the sentencing and treatment of serious sexual and violent offenders, including those with personality disorders. The other, chaired by the Rt Hon Bruce Millan, is looking at the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984. The MacLean and Millan Committees will report to the Scottish Executive later this year, while the final report of the Cosgrove Committee is expected in 2001.
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