St Mary’s University delivers training on stalking awareness to the major criminal justice agencies in London and is now developing an e-learning resource.
Dr Maria Mellins, Associate Professor in Criminology and Sociology at St Mary’s, working with an expert team, has led training delivered to staff from the Metropolitan Police, London Probation and the Crown Prosecution Service, covering topics such as stalking motivations and behaviours, legislation, Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) and safety planning.
Partnering with St Mary’s in this important work are colleagues at the Alice Ruggles Trust, a charity dedicated to tackling stalking, Cyber Helpline, which provides expert help to victims of cybercrime and online harm and forensic psychologist Dr Rachael Wheatley. The training is funded by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.
Dr Mellins brings considerable experience and expertise to this role. She has developed a suite of accredited qualifications on stalking awareness for education environments, is an Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworker, and has helped to establish and run the multi-agency Richmond-upon-Thames Domestic Abuse and Stalking Drop-In Service.
Speaking about the training for London criminal justice agencies, she said: “We are looking forward to continuing our work with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Metropolitan Police Service to develop an e-learning resource on stalking awareness. This project will draw from learnings we gained from criminal justice professionals during the first phase of our live training.
“The modules will also be informed by expert research in the field, including those with lived experience of stalking and their families, as well as frontline services who support victims and survivors of stalking. We aim to develop valuable e-learning modules that have a real impact, we are absolutely committed to supporting professionals to identify, respond and prevent stalking.”