The parents of a woman who was murdered by an “obsessed” former colleague have said they are “delighted” by new measures designed to better protect stalking victims.
Alison Ward and Richard Spinks’ daughter Gracie was stabbed to death by her stalker Michael Sellers in Duckmanton, Derbyshire, on 18 June 2021.
The 23-year-old had reported Sellers, her former supervisor at a warehouse where she had a temporary job, to Derbyshire Police multiple times before he killed her and then killed himself.
The force later admitted multiple failings in how they handled her complaints, including categorising Sellers, who had previously acted inappropriately to eight other women, as low risk.
Ms Ward and Mr Spinks have spoken to the Sky News show The UK Tonight, a day after the Home Office unveiled a raft of new measures to better protect stalking victims.
They include an increase in the use of Stalking Protection Orders – which can ban stalkers from going within a certain distance of their victims, or contacting them – and making them more widely available.
Ms Ward and Mr Spinks believe their daughter would still be alive if a Stalking Protection Order had been imposed on Sellers.
Ms Ward told Sky News Lead UK presenter Sarah-Jane Mee: “The fact they’re going to give out more stalking protection orders (is something) we welcome greatly.”
She added that she visited Cheshire Police with Mr Spinks earlier this year and they could see “how actively” the force is using the protection orders.
Ms Ward continued: “It is working, we know it works, they’ve proven at Cheshire Police that it does work.”
Gracie Spinks was murdered in 2021. Pic:
The new measures also mean courts will be able to impose such orders after a conviction – even where none was in place before a trial, contrary to the current process where one has to have been in place already.
This will stop offenders from contacting their victims from prison, the Home Office said.
Meanwhile, if someone is acquitted, courts will still have the power to apply protection orders directly if there is enough evidence to suggest that the person is still a risk to someone, the department added.
The measures will also give victims the right to know the identity of their online stalkers.
Gracie’s family say the she was ‘let down’ by police
Ms Ward and Mr Spinks have been campaigning for the government and police to take stalking more seriously since their daughter’s death.
Asked about the new Home Office measures, Mr Spinks said: “It’s time there were changes. We’ve worked hard on this for three and a half years to make changes in the police forces, and how stalking is reported, and how it’s investigated. So we’re really delighted that the police are going to be changing the way they operate.”
He added that it is important that police forces are “changing their attitude” and realise the “seriousness” of stalking and “how it affects young people”.
Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, told Sky News the new measures are “just the first step to trying to improve this situation” and the government will look at whether stalking legislation is fit for purpose as it has not been updated since 2012.