Stalking Risks Are Being Fatally Ignored
Over to The Suzy Lamplugh Trust for National Stalking Awareness Week
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has today warned that stalking continues to be overlooked as a contributing factor in cases of homicide and suicide, despite evidence to suggest it is a precursor to homicides.
A new report by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust reviewing the links between stalking and homicide highlights significant gaps in how stalking behaviours are recorded and recognised prior to death, even within Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews (DARDRs). Existing research identifies stalking as a key high risk indicator in homicide prevention, particularly in current and ex-partner relationships. The findings reinforce the importance of recognising patterns of stalking early, rather than viewing behaviours as a series of isolated incidents. The report highlights emerging evidence linking stalking to suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse, reinforcing the need for improved recognition beyond policing and across the health sector.
It also points to a significant gap in understanding stalking outside of family and ex-partner contexts, with limited evidence currently available across other relationship types. The Trust is calling for improved data collection and further research to ensure stalking risk is consistently identified across all case types.
Research by Professor Jane Monckton Smith demonstrates how stalking behaviours can form part of a recognised ‘homicide timeline’, where escalation follows predictable patterns. In one study of more than 350 cases of criminal femicides, her research highlighted that stalking behaviours were present in 94% of the cases. This report and other research underline the importance of identifying behavioural indicators such as persistence, threats, motivation, and risk-taking at an early stage.
The risks are illustrated by the case of 24-year-old Alice Ruggles, who was murdered by an ex-partner following a sustained campaign of stalking. Despite reporting the behaviour to the police, it was recorded as harassment rather than stalking, and no protective measures were put in place. A Domestic Homicide Review later concluded that this misidentification was significant in shaping the course of events, affecting risk assessment and the response to escalating behaviour. Despite the risks highlighted in Alice’s case 10 years ago, there have been other tragic cases since, including the murder of Claire Chick in January 2025 by her ex-partner, as well as Gracie Spinks who was murdered by a colleague in 2021.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, warns that these issues continue to persist across the criminal justice system and the Trust is calling for the government to establish a stalking related death review process to capture crucial learning from stalking related homicides/victim suicides outside of the domestic abuse context, as well as a clearer framework for highlighting stalking as part of Domestic Abuse Related Death Reports (DARDRs).
We also reiterate our call for urgent improvements in how stalking is identified, recorded, and responded to, alongside strengthened training across policing, health, and criminal justice agencies. This includes renewed calls for improved guidance for healthcare professionals and better integration of stalking risk within suicide prevention and safeguarding frameworks.
Without consistent identification, recording and clearer frameworks for evidencing stalking behaviours, opportunities to intervene early and prevent escalation to serious harm will continue to be missed and more lives will be lost.
Emma Lingley-Clark, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust said: “Today, we remember those whose lives have been lost to stalking — and call for urgent, systemic change to ensure it is prioritised in line with the risk it poses. Stalking behaviours must be consistently recorded wherever they have contributed to homicide or suicide, so we can fully recognise their role in the escalation to fatal harm. Nine years on from raising this during National Stalking Awareness Week 2017, serious failings in the protection of victims persist, as highlighted in our super-complaint on the police response to stalking. We know stalking can escalate into fatal fixation, yet across public bodies and agencies it continues to be dangerously underestimated — rather than treated with the urgency it demands. If the Government is serious about its commitment to halve violence against women and girls it must mandate specialist independent training for criminal justice professionals working on stalking cases and ensure that stalking is included in the ‘Steps to Safety’ training programme for healthcare professionals. Failure to do so will continue to cost lives.”
Clive Ruggles, Father of Alice Ruggles and Chair of Alice Ruggles Trust said: “Ten years ago, my daughter Alice was stalked relentlessly by an ex-boyfriend after she ended their relationship. Over the next three months, the stalking rapidly escalated. He then broke into her flat and killed her. Could her death have been prevented if the right measures had been taken during those three months? I absolutely believe so. This keeps happening and we need to stop it. We urgently need practitioners across criminal justice and beyond to better understand the risks of stalking and the very real danger of escalation all the way to homicide. We need police and healthcare professionals to better trained to act appropriately when confronted with stalking cases and we need ongoing research that informs and improves best practice. Until this happens, we will continue to see lives lost unnecessarily, as Alice's was.”
Dr Jane Monckton-Smith OBE, Professor of Public Protection at the University of Gloucestershire: “Over the years of examining cases, the pattern has become increasingly clear that stalking is not an isolated behaviour but part of a predictable escalation towards serious harm, suicide and homicide. These warning signs are still too often ignored or missed entirely. Hence understanding the homicide timeline is critical to identifying stalking risk, particularly when viewed through temporal sequencing. This helps to reveal escalating perpetrator behaviours where a range of tactics can rapidly intensify and move from persistent stalking to potentially fatal violence. Every missed opportunity for early intervention and identification of risks represents preventable harm and loss of life.”
To read our full ‘Fatal Fixation’ report please visit: www.suzylamplugh.org/national-stalking-awareness-week-2026
Suzy Lamplugh Trust is a national personal safety charity set up after the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh 40 years ago. Our mission is to reduce the risk of violence, aggression and abuse through campaigning, education, and support. The Trust campaigns for better protections for victims of violence, aggression and stalking in policy and law. Suzy Lamplugh Trust runs the National Stalking Helpline and Advocacy Service, the only stalking helpline service for all victims across the UK, set up in 2010. The Helpline and Advocacy Service have supported over 85,000 victims of stalking to date.
This is tragic and shocking that stalking is still not taken seriously. I have heard of dr jane monkton Smith and the research she has done for steps from beginning of stalking to the unfortunate outcome that can, and is happening.