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25 October 2024 / Claudia-Lauren Williams
Issue: 8091 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Mental health
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It’s time to talk about stalking

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Claudia-Lauren Williams explores the criminal justice response to stalking & asks: is it adequate?
  • Sets out the two stalking offences under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, comparing their particulars, sentences and limitations, before exploring the investigative difficulties and evidential hurdles.
  • Considers the use of Stalking Protection Orders, and discusses the link between stalking behaviours and mental health disorders, highlighting the lack of research and the need for a new approach.

Stalking has been a recurring topic of conversation in recent months, particularly since the release of the Emmy award-winning Netflix series Baby Reindeer, which is widely understood to reflect a dramatised depiction of the true-to-life experience of stalking, by producer and star Richard Gadd, as Donny Dunn.

Baby Reindeer is a cautionary tale about the ease with which people can gain access to our lives, and how difficult it can be to stop those intent on pursuing contact. In the modern world, plastering our lives on social media has become normalised—the coffee shops we visit, the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
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A legal challenge to police disclosure rules has failed, reinforcing a push for transparency in policing. In NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth examines a case where the Metropolitan Police required officers to declare membership of groups like the Freemasons
Bereavement leave is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation. Writing in NLJ this week, Robert Hargreaves of York St John University explains how the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a day-one right to leave for a wider range of losses, alongside new provisions for pregnancy loss and bereaved partners
Courts are beginning to grapple with whether AI-generated material is legally privileged—and the answers are mixed. In this week's issue of NLJ, Stacie Bourton, Tom Whittaker & Beata Kolodziej of Burges Salmon examine US rulings showing how easily privilege can be lost
New guidance seeks to bring order to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Minesh Tanna and David Bridge of Simmons & Simmons set out a framework stressing ‘transparency’, ‘explainability’ and ‘reliability’
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