The parents of Gracie Spinks, a woman who was murdered by her stalker in June, have finally found support after visiting a specialist police unit in Cheshire. Richard Spinks and Alison Ward have campaigned for better training and procedures to deal with stalking since the death of their daughter. The Harm Reduction Unit (HRU) at Cheshire police sees officers work alongside healthcare workers, probation officers and victims’ advocates to treat stalking as a public health issue.
Set up in 2015, the HRU received the UK’s first stalking protection order in January, which requires the stalker to wear an ankle tag that alerts police and the victim if they get too close. Mr Spinks praised the HRU’s work, saying “change is not something that will happen overnight but we will not let it drop. We want this level of service across the board.”
The Deputy Chief Constable of Derbyshire, where Gracie was killed, has admitted the force “failed” her. Though Gracie had reported her stalker to the police months before her death, a bag of weapons belonging to him was found by two dog walkers, but police did not investigate.
Her parents are campaigning for Gracie’s Law, which calls for all police forces to employ independent stalking advocates (ISAs) to help and support victims throughout the process of reporting a crime and any legal proceedings that follow. A BBC Breakfast investigation found that of 40 forces who responded, just 14 had an ISA in place. The coroner who led the inquest into Miss Spinks’ death stated that there was “a postcode lottery” of support available for stalking victims
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