Hundreds of prosecutions under new stalking laws
New stalking legislation has seen hundreds of cases brought to court that may not have been charged under previous law, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
The laws, which came into force in November 2012, allow prosecutors to bring charges where an offender's behaviour falls short of fear of violence, but where a victim is caused serious alarm or distress affecting their lifestyle.
In 2013/14 - the first full year since the new laws were introduced - 743 prosecutions were dealt with by the courts.
And prosecutions for all stalking and harassment offences, using both new and older legislation, increased by more than 20% - from 8,648 in 2012/13 to 10,535 last year.
