Make stalkers wear GPS trackers so their victims know when they are near, campaigners demand
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Stalkers and domestic abusers should be forced to wear GPS trackers which would alert their victims if they are nearby, campaigners have demanded.
They say plans to fit offenders with electronic tags included in the government’s draft domestic abuse bill launched by Theresa May last month do not go far enough.
Liz Saville-Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s home affairs spokesperson, has urged ministers to introduce a system where the offender wears a device that transmits an alert directly to the victim and police if a restraining order is breached.
She said: “We know that manufacturers could develop simple devices based on transmitters and receivers that could provide a vital extra layer of security for victims and genuinely reduce the incidents of re-offending by convicted stalkers and abusers.
“A victim would carry a receiver and be alerted if their abuser were to enter a court-imposed exclusion zone, with the police also receiving an alert in high-risk incidences.
(Image: Getty Images)
"Above all, it would give the victim an increased sense of safety and confidence - something that is taken for granted by most of us but is severely lacking amongst some victims of abuse.”
Laura Lyons, 32, was victim of a campaign of domestic abuse and “honour”-based violence.
She escaped her marriage in 2013 and had to move several times along with her young daughter.
Ms Lyons, also a women’s rights campaigner, said: “I think it would definitely help people. In my own personal view, it would be extremely helpful to know if the perpetrator was in my vicinity.
"This would then enable me to notify the police and get to a place of safety.
“It doesn’t ever go away. A lot of women who experience violence and abuse for years and years are extremely worried about the person finding them and hurting them again. They might be outside your house and you would have no idea.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
“This sounds like an excellent idea and one I would fully support. However, the equipment and software used must be extremely well-tested ensuring that perpetrators can not find away around it, thus luring victims into a false sense of security.”
Director of the Victims’ Rights Campaign, Harry Fletcher, said: “Our proposals are about improving safety and public confidence, and allowing victims of domestic abuse and stalking to live their lives without fear.
"Manufacturers have told us that that they could develop these simple devices and it is important that the Government takes these ideas on board and gives them serious consideration.
“Safety must take priority over cost to the Ministry of Justice. Indeed, if safety was paramount it would reduce health costs.”
The draft Domestic Abuse Bill also proposes tougher sentences where children are involved and more support for victims who testify in court.
It includes a new definition of economic abuse - if people are denied access to jobs or money, or forced to take loans.