Two detectives receive awards for their work catching stalkers, following report heavily criticising Met

Image: Detective Inspector Karen Butler and Acting Detective Inspector Stephen Kelly among those receiving awards from the National Police Chiefs’ Council

Detectives make an impact on stopping stalkers reoffending

Two Metropolitan Police officers have received awards for their ‘outstanding work in tackling violence against women and girls’ by investigating stalkers.

Detective Inspector Karen Butler and Acting Detective Inspector Stephen Kelly, who work with the Stalking Threat Assessment Centre, were awarded by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

The Police say recent figures show that as a result of Stephen and Karen’s intervention, reoffending in over 300 high-risk offenders was reduced by 78 per cent.

The two detectives said:

“We are proud of the work we do and are lucky to work with a brilliant team that we can rely on to help us in our mission to tackle stalking, from spotting the signs of being stalked, to helping those who’ve been affected.”

Image above: Suzy Lamplugh Trust website page – self-assessment tool ‘Am I being stalked?’

Awards come just two months after report found criminal justice system was failing victims of stalking

The police have been heavily criticised recently for their response to stalking – or their lack of it. A report by the London Victims’ Commissioner found in July that the criminal justice system was failing victims of stalking.

Claire Waxman’s report found 45% of stalking victims withdrew from the justice process and a further 41% saw no further police action on their complaints.

It also found “confusion” in the Metropolitan Police and wider justice system about anti-stalking laws”.

The review has made 13 recommendations to the Met, the government and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to overhaul the justice system’s response to stalking.

More victims coming forward because there is a ‘greater intolerance’ of stalking in society

Stalking and harassment is defined as when someone repeatedly behaves in a way that makes a person feel scared, distressed or threatened. If this unwanted behaviour happens two times or more, it may be a crime. Since April 2020 all harassment offences occurring within the context of domestic abuse are now classified as stalking offences.

The statistics show 80% stalking victims have been female, and there has been a rise in cases reported over the past few years. The Metropolitan Police say:

‘More victims may have come forward following a greater intolerance of stalking in society.’

The nature of stalking has also changed, with the vast majority of victims who contact The National Stalking Helpline reporting a cyber-element in their stalker’s behaviour.

Images: Gavin Plumb; Holly Willoughby

String of high profile cases

Gavin Plumb jailed for 15 years for planning to rape and kidnap Holly Willoughby

There have been a number of high-profile stalking cases in recent years.

Gavin Plumb was sentenced to life in prison in July this year for planning to rape and murder Holly Willoughby. The security guard was convicted of planning “unspeakable violence” against the TV presenter and was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison.

The court heard how he ‘worshipped’ her and was ‘obsessed’ with her, but it did not hear all the detail of his plans, which were considered too ‘horrifying, shocking and graphic’ to share in court.

The judge said his plan was ‘considerably more than a fantasy’, as the week-long trial court heard how Plumb had made an “abduction kit”,  which included metal cable ties, handcuffs, a ball gag and a blindfold, in preparation for his attack.

Images: BBC weather presenter Alexis Green; Fern Britton

Fern Britton and BBC Weather presenter Alexis Green harassed by stalkers

In June this year a man with a ‘crush’ on TV presenter Fern Britton was given a ten-year restraining order following a ‘prolonged campaign’ of attempts to contact her. James Haviland, 63, admitted stalking Ms Britton, but ‘without fear, alarm or distress’, between November 2021 and September 2023 in Wadebridge, Cornwall.

In March last year Timothy O’Brien was jailed for 17 weeks for harassing BBC South weather presenter Alexis Green, sending her explicitly sexual messages and images. He was handed a restraining order and told not to attend her place of work at BBC South in Southampton, after sending her 115 messages, 33 videos and 13 photographs.

She told Southampton crown court she had to take time off screen because of the “repeated” harassment, which had made her feel less confident in “every aspect” of her life.

Images: Edward Viner; Emily Maitliss

Edward Viner jailed for eight years for stalking Emily Maitliss after repeatedly breaching restraining order

Edward Viner was jailed for eight years in September 2022 for stalking broadcaster Emily Maitliss. The judge said he had shown ‘breathtaking persistence’ in trying to contact her.

He wrote to her repeatedly over three decades and was jailed only after breaching a restraining order for the 20th time. He even wrote eight letters to Emily and her mother from Nottingham prison while under a restraining order, expressing his unrequited love for her.

The judge said it was clear he saw the restraining order as “meaningless”.

“The only thing stopping you from contacting her is your continued imprisonment. It is an obsession from which you have been unable to escape.”

Images: Alex Bellfield; Jeremy Vine 

Jeremy Vine stalker Alex Bellfield jailed for five and a half years

The problem is not unique to women. Broadcaster and Chiswick resident Jeremy Vine was on the receiving end of “an avalanche of hatred” from Alex Belfield, who was found guilty in August 2022 of stalking him and three others.

Bellfield, a former BBC radio presenter, harassed his targets online on his own Youtube channel. He was jailed for five and a half years. Jeremy Vine told the court watching his Youtube videos was like “swimming in sewage” and described Belfield as “the Jimmy Saville of trolling.”

READ ALSO: Jeremy Vine’s stalker jailed

The Metropolitan Police works with the Stalking Threat Assessment Centre, run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which works to reduce reoffending and improve public safety by increasing early intervention to reduce the risk of offenders becoming violent and improve our response to victims.

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