Parents of murdered Gracie Spinks call for urgent action after stalking super-complaint

The parents of a woman from Chesterfield, who was murdered by her stalker, say a damning report into police failures must bring urgent change.

Gracie Spinks was 23 when she was stabbed to death by Michael Sellers in 2021, four months after she had initially reported him to Derbyshire Police after he became obsessed with her.

Officers had warned Sellers to stay away from Gracie, but failed to act when a bag of weapons was found close to the stables where she kept her horse Paddy.

She was found in the field near Staveley Road in Duckmanton, near Chesterfield, and pronounced dead at the scene.

Sellers' body was found a short distance away after he killed himself.

An inquest into Gracie's death last year ruled Derbyshire Police made numerous errors - prompting the force to admit "significant failings".

Today, 27 September, an Independent Office for Police Conduct report into stalking nationally revealed that police often failed to take cases seriously enough.

The report followed a so-called super-complaint by the stalking charity, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust about the way police respond to reports of stalking.

What is a super-complaint?

Launched in November 2018, the super-complaints system allows designated bodies, such as charities, to raise concerns about widespread issues that could affect public confidence in policing.

The system is administered by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue services (HMICFRS).

A super-complaint is assessed by a committee including Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and HMICFRS.

The investigation reviewed more than 500 police investigation case files, including the murder of Gracie.

Her mother, Alison Ward, said: "At every point of Gracie's complaint they didn't investigate, they didn't take note, you just can't believe it."

At Gracie's inquest, assistant coroner, Matthew Kewley said there was a "postcode lottery" for stalking victims looking for a police response, citing a lack of consistency in forces' abilities to investigate stalking reports nationwide.

Gracie's father, Richard Spinks, added: "This is going on nationally, internationally and girls and women are frightened.

"It's a big problem and it's got to be addressed and changes have got to be made."

The 159-page report said the watchdogs found “clear evidence” supporting the concerns raised and, despite examples of good practice, “in too many cases the police response was not good enough and victims were being let down”.

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust say the findings are stark evidence of the urgent need for a complete reform of the police response to stalking.

They are calling on police forces to publish their action plan for implementing the recommendations, by end of November 2024.

The Government says it is "actively considering" the reports recommendations and plans to work with police to overhaul issues with stalking.

Mr Spinks said: "It's there in black and white and the message needs to go out there now and changes need to happen now.

"How many deaths does it take for them to sit up and say we need to do something about this."

Gracie's parents are calling for Gracie's Law to be implemented, which would see all 43 police forces in the UK to have the same procedures for investigating and logging stalking.

The law would also ensure officers have sufficient training to deal with stalking and for a stalking advocate to be available to act as a liaison between the police and victims.

Gracie's parents have worked with Derbyshire Police to improve the forces response to stalking.

Mr Spinks added: "If we have done this in Derbyshire why can't we role this out across the rest of the country."

"We wouldn't want this to happen to anyone else."

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