Naomi Long

MLAs yesterday approved a series of amendments to the Protection from Stalking Bill which were developed and tabled by justice minister Naomi Long at the request of the justice committee.

The amendments place new administrative duties on the Department of Justice, covering guidance, training, data collection and reporting requirements on the operation of the legislation.

Opening the debate, Mrs Long told MLAs: “Since becoming justice minister, I have made stalking legislation a key priority. The moving of the bill to consideration stage marks a further significant milestone in its progression.

“It is a significant piece of draft legislation that, I am confident, will make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable people in our community. It will help us to protect many people across Northern Ireland who live in the fear that this kind of insidious crime creates.”

The bill, if passed, will create a specific offence of stalking and will be better focused on recognising stalking behaviour that can be fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated.

It will also include the offence of threatening or abusive behaviour which can be trigged by a single incident and provides that all victims of stalking will have automatic eligibility for special measures assistance, such as the use of live links or screens at court, when giving evidence in proceedings.

The bill will also introduce stalking protection orders, which will allow police to intervene prior to a conviction to disrupt stalking behaviours before they become entrenched or escalate in severity. Police, rather than victims, will apply for these orders to the courts.

Meryvn Storey, chair of the Stormont justice committee, told MLAs the need for “robust legislation” had been clear since 2016.

“The pressing need for stalking legislation was also an issue that came very much to the fore of deliberations during the committee stage of the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act last year, and many organisations indicated that there was a clear legislative gap that needed to be addressed,” he added.