Home   Kent   News   Article

Kent has third highest number of stalking incidents in England, as mum of murdered Clare Bernal urges signs to be recognised

The mum of a woman from Tunbridge Wells who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend is urging victims and professionals to recognise the signs of stalking, as the number of incidents in Kent soared since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Between April and December 2020 there were 3,228 incidents of stalking recorded by Kent Police - a staggering rise of 266% compared to the previous year.

.

The figure is the third highest in the country, lower only than London and the West Midlands.

Not all incidents of stalking have a physically violent outcome - but some tragically end in the most brutal way.

Clare Bernal was shot dead as she worked behind the counter of the Knightsbridge Harvey Nichols store in 2005.

Czech-born Michael Pech had been stalking and harassing Miss Bernal, originally from Groombridge, near Tunbridge Wells, after she ended their three-week relationship.

Shoppers and co-workers saw Pech shoot the former St Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive School student four times in the head, before turning the gun on himself.

Clare Bernal was murdered by her ex-boyfriend
Clare Bernal was murdered by her ex-boyfriend

In the years that followed her death, mum Tricia Bernal made the decision to devote her life to trying to stop her daughter's fate befalling others.

Mrs Bernal was last week awarded an MBE for her services in highlighting the devastating effects of stalking, which she dedicated to her daughter.

She co-founded Protection Against Stalking, a national charity which works within communities to raise public awareness about stalking, and support victims of stalking through providing specialist support services.

Speaking to KentOnline, Mrs Bernal said: "It evolved with three mums who had lost their daughters to being stalked and murdered. It was originally the Clare, Rana, and Tania trust, then Carol Faruqui, the mother of Rana and I wanted to become an established charity, to be able to have the recognition and the clout to achieve more."

The pair succeeded in working with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in pushing for a helpline specifically for stalking victims - at the time there was only one for broader cases of domestic abuse.

Tricia Bernal co-founded Protection Against Stalking
Tricia Bernal co-founded Protection Against Stalking

The charity also led a campaign to improve laws to recognise stalking as its own criminal offence, whether involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress.

If it had existed in 2005, Clare would have been recognised under the legislation - but the term stalking was hardly ever used in criminal context at the time.

Mrs Bernal said: "Clare and I didn't see it as 'stalking', we thought that only happened with celebrities.

"All we saw was the way Michael Pech was behaving, and Clare's world was shrinking. Wherever she was, he was, which is exactly what happens to victims of stalking.

"This is something that goes unrecognised often, because very often there's no physical violence there.

'Clare and I didn't see it as 'stalking'...'

"Their life is taken away in effect, and this can go on for years, and even if it doesn't continue with one victim they'll move onto another victim, and very often up the ante."

As awareness has increased on the subject of stalking, professionals are being urged to recognise the signs more than ever.

Research conducted by Dr Jane Monckton Smith in 2019 resulted in an eight-stage step for recognising the pattern of behaviour that can lead to a woman being killed by their male partner.

The steps include 'risk marker' behaviours during the relationship, and an escalation that includes persistence and stalking,

Mrs Bernal said: "With every single stage with Clare, you could have ticked it.

Clare Bernal
Clare Bernal

"If somebody had understood and done a risk assessment, whereby they used that tool, then they would have seen Clare is at high risk and she would have given a lot more protection. "

Protection Against Stalking backed a national campaign in 2018 to introduce measures that would allow police forces to take action far more quickly.

It helped enact Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs), a civil power which can impose restrictions on suspected stalkers.

The legislation was designed to make it easier to curb the behaviour of stalkers, as well as lowering the burden of proof required for a criminal conviction.

But despite this, police forces across the country are not widely using the power.

Clare Bernal
Clare Bernal

Just 294 orders have been granted since January 2020, despite more than 55,000 stalking incidents being recorded by police in the nine months to December 2020 alone.

Kent Police have applied for a total of 25 as of the end of April 2021, and have had 23 accepted - this is the fourth highest number of SPOs applied for by a police force in the country.

But 23 is comparatively dwarfed by the 3,228 recorded stalking incidents between April and December 2020.

To compound matters, Kent Police's charge rate is the lowest in the entire country at just 2%.

Jan Berry, co-CEO of Protection Against Stalking, explained the close relationship the charity has with the county's police force.

She said: "We've worked very closely with them for the past couple of years to understand the difference between harassment and stalking, and I think we're getting there.

"We have a monthly meeting with Kent Police that brings together all the key agencies, but importantly it's like a safety net to make sure that stalking cases are being followed through and are being identified - and where there's a need to apply for a SPO then that meeting will review the evidence to see if there is sufficient evidence to be put before a court."

The charity co-CEO has noticed an improvement in officers' recognition of the signs of stalking.

But she also knows there is work to be done when it comes to application of the protection orders.

She said: "I think there are a lot more cases that should have stalking protection orders attached to them.

Victims of stalking can suffer with long-lasting PTSD
Victims of stalking can suffer with long-lasting PTSD

"There are cases where breaches of orders that could of and should have been dealt with differently, but it's also bout the quality of the investigation by the police, making sure they pull together all of the incidents and investigate them directly."

There is also a positive side to the county's high figures - it means incidents are being reported, when previously they may not have been.

But the other matter is Kent Police's low 2% charge rate.

Jan said it's on the police force to ensure cases are properly investigated and the evidence is collated: "I think the Crown Prosecution Service can only deal with the evidence presented to them, so if they're not presented with evidence that demonstrates stalking, or stalking's not even being suggested, then it's difficult to know how CPS would then deal with that."

A Home Office spokesman said: "Stalking Protection Orders stop perpetrators in their tracks and prevent them contacting victims. We expect police forces to make full use of them.

"Next week, Home Office officials will meet with the police and other stakeholders who work to tackle stalking to set out our findings on how effectively police forces have been using SPOs and discuss how to improve this."

Why has lockdown increased stalking incidents?

It is clear from the data stalking incidents began to soar at the start of the first national lockdown in 2020.

Lisa King, communications director at domestic violence charity Refuge, said: "When we've been locked in the use of technology to stalk and frighten and harass - particularly young women - has seen a huge increase in numbers.

"We've seen people having trackers on their phones, where their information is mirrored onto another person's device. We see spyware being downloaded, trackers in cars, but also kind of a monitoring of social media profiles.

"And not just to the victim themselves, but beyond to friends and family members whose details have been followed and tracked, and as a result kind of tracking the victim down and harassment to those parties also.

"And that has certainly been on the rise through the pandemic."

What counts as stalking?

Although the act of stalking is not defined in law, there is a list of examples of behaviours that are associated with stalking.

They include following a person, contacting or attempting to contact a person by any means, and watching and spying on a person.

.

The reason the law is designed this way is to recognise stalking as a specific behaviour, rather than a more general form of harassment.

Jan said: "Some things can be really innocuous or have quite different meanings to different people, but when you add them up - you may have received 1500 calls from a person, you may have received hundreds emails, they may have gone past your front door 30, 40 times, they may have left a gift on your front door step.

"All of which could in isolation seem really innocent, have a good reason to be there, but when you look at the collective and obsessive and fixated behaviour of the stalker and the impact the behaviour has on the victim, it's enormous."

She added: "The cost of stalking, if it takes a life is awful, but it doesn't need to take a life to have a huge impact on the victim."

Molly McLaren was another Kent woman murdered by her ex-partner.

Molly McLaren was killed by Joshua Stimpson
Molly McLaren was killed by Joshua Stimpson

Joshua Stimpson bombarded Molly with messages and posted derogatory comments about her online in the days after the break up and 12 days later he repeatedly stabbed the 23-year-old as she sat in her car at Dockside Outlet in Chatham.

It was also revealed in the trial held at Maidstone Crown Court that Stimpson has had a history of stalking his previous partners.

Speaking to KentOnline in 2018, Molly's dad Doug said he believed the inability for the police to receive this information when Molly reported him to the police was an issue.

He said: "The issue was when Molly and Jo went to the police they couldn’t find out about this because it wasn’t a charge or evidence. It was just an allegation and they couldn’t access the Staffordshire police database.

Doug and Jo McLaren speaking to KentOnline in 2018
Doug and Jo McLaren speaking to KentOnline in 2018

"Recommendations have been made about more cooperation between police forces in the UK, which can only be a good thing."

What does Kent Police have to say about protecting stalking victims?

Detective Chief Superintendent Andrew Pritchard of Kent Police's Public Protection Unit said: "Stalking can have a devastating effect on victims' lives and we remain focused and committed to helping people get justice and move forward.

"We appreciate that sometimes victims want intervention rather than prosecution, however regardless of the investigative outcome, victims in Kent will always be safeguarded where appropriate and directed to the relevant support services.

"A Stalking Protection Order offers long lasting protection and places a requirement on the perpetrator to register with police. However, they are just one tool that officers use to provide protection to those who need it.

Detective Chief Superintendent Andrew Pritchard. Image from Kent Police
Detective Chief Superintendent Andrew Pritchard. Image from Kent Police

"Stalking Prevention Orders are considered for High Risk stalking cases. This is managed through a Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Panel (MASIP). Officers investigation stalking offences can refer High Risk cases to this panel for tactical advice, enhanced victim support and legal support with obtaining an SPO. The SPO places restrictions on the perpetrator and offers an enhanced level of safeguarding for the victim.

"Kent Police has also mandated Stalking Awareness Training for all its officers. Additionally officers attending incidents of domestic abuse now use a risk assessment tool which is designed to assist in the identification of stalking behaviour. This has led to an increased awareness and recording of stalking.

"The force also works with partner agencies to offer support and ensure victims are getting the best service available. This includes the use of specially trained stalking advocates who can provide independent support and advice to victims of crime.

"We also continuously encourage victims to come forward and as a result have seen improvements in victim’s confidence to speak to officers in the knowledge their allegation will be investigated.

"Our officers and staff follow a rigorous approach to recording all offences and has resulted in increases in the number of reports of stalking. Previously these offences may have been recorded as malicious communications or harassment, but the force has focused on recognising stalking appropriately and the impact it has on the victim. This is directly reflected in the number of recorded cases of stalking.

"Victims are our priority and we measure our success on ensuring the best outcome for them, whatever that may be."

If you believe you are a victim of stalking, contact the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300

Read more: All the latest news from Kent

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More