The Trust is delighted to learn that the Stalking Protection Bill has received Royal Assent and now becomes law.

The Stalking Protection Bill was a Private Member's Bill sponsored by Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, who successfully guided it through the House of Commons during 2018. It was subsequently led through the House of Lords by Baroness Gabby Bertin.

The Stalking Protection Act 2019 introduces measures called Stalking Protection Orders to protect victims when they report a stalking crime, without putting the onus on the victim: the police can apply for them. Importantly, breaching such an order will be a serious criminal offence that should result in immediate action by the police. If a co-coordinated approach to stalking had existed back in 2016, including the use of stalking protection orders backed up by immediate action to arrest the perpetrator if breached, Alice might still be alive today.

Read in Hansard:

• Commons Second Reading debate (January 2018)
• Public Bill Committee (July 2018)
• Commons Report Stage and Third Reading debate (November 2018)
• Lords Second Reading debate (January 2019)

The Alice Ruggles Trust is delighted that Stalking Protection Orders have now become law. We are committed to doing all we can to aid training and professional awareness-raising among the police, CPS and judiciary to ensure that the Orders are used to best effect within the criminal justice system.