Forces told not to hand out fixed penalty notices in stalking cases
Officers have been told not to hand out fixed penalty notices in stalking and harassment cases after teenager Shana Grice was fined for wasting police time before she was murdered.
The police watchdog issued the recommendation to the chief constables of all police forces in England and Wales in the wake of the 19-year-old’s killing at the hands of her ex-boyfriend after he spent months stalking and harassing her.
On Thursday the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) published its final report into how officers handled her complaints before she died.
As well as issuing national guidelines to all police forces, the IOPC made a raft of recommendations to Sussex Police – telling it to properly train staff, improve risk assessments, communicate better and use systems correctly.
The College of Policing and National Police Chiefs Council have also been told to get forces to make sure officers and staff have the skills to do their jobs properly when investigating crime.
