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A woman who was nearly killed by her ex-partner and was tormented by his “fixated” stalking campaign against her has warned that many stalkers are repeat offenders, threatening the safety of their victims
Her warnings come as a new report suggests 60 per cent of stalkers strike again.
Zoe Dronfield, who almost died when her ex-partner attacked her with a meat cleaver, told The Independent he started stalking her after she broke up with him.
The mother-of-two, who is 48, spent weeks in hospital recovering from bleeding on the brain, a stab wound to her neck and a broken right arm inflicted during an eight-hour ordeal at the hands of Jason Smith, who was subsequently jailed for 10 years, with a further four on licence, in March 2015.
Her comments come as a new study by London’s Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman has suggested stalkers are enabled to “hide in plain sight” due to the criminal justice system failing victims.
The first ever London Stalking Review, published by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime earlier this week, found three out of five stalking perpetrators offend again and two-thirds of stalking offences are being carried out by repeat offenders.
He was Whatsapping me and sending reams of stuff on emails. There were texts, calls and voicemails. When I ignored his contact via phone, he would turn up at the house.— Zoe Dronfield
Ms Dronfield, whose ex was recently released from prison, said: “It is not a surprise to me that stalkers are repeat offenders. They are serial offenders and this is why we need a register tracking serial stalkers and repeat domestic abusers.”
She told of how her ex started stalking her after she broke the relationship off, calling her dozens of times a day, and turning up at her house uninvited.
She would park her car a few streets away so he didn’t know she was home yet he would nevertheless bang on the door, Ms Dronfield added.
Ms Dronfield recalled an incident where her ex-partner was arrested for criminal damage after kicking her door in.
She added: “He was Whatsapping me and sending reams of stuff on emails. There were texts, calls and voicemails. When I ignored his contact via phone, he would turn up at the house.
“The police didn’t take all this stalking of me seriously and they didn’t recognise the pattern or the escalation in the behaviour. This was the run-up to the attack with the meat cleaver. After the incessant contact, around four weeks later he attacked me.”
She recalled that he was charged with witness intimidation due to contacting her via a mobile phone while on remand in prison - adding this “proves that stalkers don’t stop”.
Stalking victims have been failed for far too long by a criminal justice system that is still struggling to identify and understand stalking.— Claire Waxman
Her ex-partner has been blocked from coming to Coventry where she lives, she added.
The new study suggests confusion towards stalking laws has enabled stalking to escalate - with too many perpetrators dodging justice.
The latest data shows one in five women in the UK and one in ten men have been subjected to stalking.
Ms Waxman, who is calling for an urgent national stalking awareness campaign to be launched, warned stalking is a “crime of great psychological terror which is devastating lives”.
She added: “Stalking victims have been failed for far too long by a criminal justice system that is still struggling to identify and understand stalking.
“Sadly, the system has become complicit in allowing stalking cases to escalate. Confusing legislation is hampering the police’s ability to build strong cases, enabling stalkers to act with impunity and leaving victims at risk.
“If left unchallenged, we know that it can often be a gateway offence to much more serious crimes and it is vital that it is taken with the utmost seriousness by our police and courts.”
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan warned stalking is “one of the worst examples of predatory behaviour and can have a lasting and traumatic impact” on victims’ lives.
“The London Stalking Review highlights how the criminal justice system is repeatedly failing those most at risk. This must radically change to stop the cycle of reoffending and make London safer for everyone,” he added.
Commander Kevin Southworth, lead for Public Protection in the Met Police, said: “We welcome the recommendations by the Victims’ Commissioner and the need for change across the whole criminal justice system to better support victims and get the justice they so rightly deserve.
“The Met is transforming the way we protect the public from harm, better targeting predatory offenders and identifying stalkers as early as possible.”
