Stalking

Information about stalking, advice for victims and how to can report unwanted behaviour.

On this page:

What is stalking?

Stalking behaviours

Safety advice

Help Police Scotland to help you

Dealing with unwanted calls

What is stalking?

There is no legal definition of Stalking, however it can be described as:

“Two or more behaviours directed towards a victim which cause, are intended to cause, or where the perpetrator’s behaviour is reckless as to whether it causes, the victim to suffer fear and alarm.”

‘Fear and alarm’ is physical or psychological harm. It is also fear for your safety.

If you think you are being stalked or are suffering harassment, please report it to Police Scotland. You can do this at your local police station, by phoning 101, reporting online or calling 999 if it is an emergency.

You can access the online Stalking Form to report an incident of stalking that has occurred within Scotland.

Stalking behaviours

Each stalking situation is unique and stalkers may have different motivations. The tactics they use are often very similar.

These include:

Following someone
Contacting or attempting to contact a person by any means
Publishing material about someone without their consent
Monitoring someone’s phone, internet, email or other form of communication
Loitering in a public or private place
Interfering with someone’s property
Leaving unwanted gifts or notes for someone
Watching or spying on someone

Watch this video by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust for more information on what stalking is.

Safety advice

There is some advice you can follow if you think you might be a victim.

Report it to the police
Do not interact with the person stalking you
Take a mobile telephone with you when you go out
Have your keys ready for when you reach your front door
Fit a home alarm system or carry a personal attack alarm
Change your online passwords regularly, and look after your privacy settings. Do not share personal information with a stranger
Set a pin or password on your mobile devices
Turn off GPS and locating tagging on your mobile devices
If you think you are being followed, head to a public place, a shop or your nearest police station

Help Police Scotland to help you

Here's some things you can do so that we can help you:

Keep a diary - save evidence like text messages, emails and also take screenshots
Keep any letters or gifts as evidence of unwanted contact and pass them to the police
If these frighten or upset you, do not throw them away and handle them as little as possible
If you have a smart phone or other suitable device, record unwanted telephone conversations
Do not allow the person to emotionally isolate you
Tell your trusted family and friends about what you are experiencing

Dealing with unwanted calls

Contact your service provider who can put in place additional measures to stop calls from withheld or unknown numbers
When you answer the phone, answer by saying 'hello', not your name or number
Make use of answer machines and caller identifications to screen calls - only talk to people you want to
Try to keep calm and don’t show emotion, certain callers will give up if they don't get a reaction from you
Do not respond in any way to unwanted calls, letters, or conversations