THE detective leading Wiltshire’s efforts to tackle stalking has called on people experiencing unwanted contact to report those responsible to the police.

Reports of stalking and harassment jumped from more than 2,600 in 2018/19 to over 3,250 last year, as more people reported their abusers to the authorities.

And while Det Insp Joe Saunders sees it as positive that more people are reporting stalking and harassment to officers, he wants people to get in touch with police sooner. 

He said: “It is, thankfully, quite a rare occurrence and I want people to feel safe. But I also want people to recognise it and report it.”

The detective said people should be on the lookout for fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated behaviour. That could range from bombarding someone with messages over the internet to turning up at their place of work. 

During the last year, the force has seen a rise in cyber-harassment – with offenders taking to the internet to carry out their campaign of stalking. 

Det Insp Saunders said: “It could be sending unwanted messages or emails, it could be setting up accounts pretending to be different people, it could be setting up a fake dating profile or joining similar interest groups. 

“The impact on the victim can be just as severe as it would be in a physical sense.

“We can also see into the worse, more illicit methods of hacking into emails, of hacking into accounts.

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“We are going to be coming out of lockdown now but we need to be aware that these methods will and can continue. 

“The impact on individuals can never be overlooked. We can talk about the physical side of things, the cyber element of it can be just as severe.

“When we speak to victims, the impact can be massive. People can panic about whether these individuals are going to be round there. They change aspects of their life that no one should have to change, always looking over their shoulder. 

“In the virtual world that’s just as severe as in the physical world.”

Earlier this month the victim of former Swindon Town player Shayne Bradley said her life had been ruined by his obsessive stalking of her. 

After their relationship ended, he bombarded her with messages and even hid in the hedge outside her home.

“On the first occasion I’m aware of he followed me home from a friend’s house and my life was made hell for the months which followed,” she said. The 41-year-old was jailed  at Gloucester Crown Court for two-and-a-half years.

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Shayne Bradley's custody shot Picture: GLOUCESTERSHIRE CONSTABULARY

Cyber-harassment brings new complexities for police, with more evidence contained on digital devices. Det Insp Saunders said he was confident in his force’s ability to investigate crimes and said Wiltshire Police was working with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to train officers to spot the signs of harassment and stalking. 

He urged people to make sure their privacy settings and software updates were up to date and they only shared information online that they were comfortable to share.

For support, call Wiltshire Police on 101 or visit www.suzylamplugh.org.