Unwanted attention that reaches the front door, whether it is repeated visits, parked cars, watching the house or gifts left on the step, can be stalking even when no single act looks serious. The Stalking Protection Act 2019 created a civil order that lets police act early, before any conviction. This article summarises the Home Office statutory guidance for the police on Stalking Protection Orders (April 2024), the text of the Act, and GOV.UK’s 2026 factsheet on further changes. The guidance states that it applies to England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland are outside its scope. It is general information, not legal advice or a safety plan.
What a Stalking Protection Order is
The guidance describes a Stalking Protection Order (SPO) as a civil order that can be sought by the police. It was created to close a gap in the existing protective orders regime: the threshold for starting criminal proceedings does not need to be met before an order is made, which allows early intervention before behaviour becomes entrenched or escalates. No prior conviction for stalking is required. Where the criminal threshold has already been met, an SPO is not an alternative to prosecution under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. It can complement a prosecution.
Only police can apply for an order (through a chief officer of police, who may delegate), to a magistrates’ court. An application is made in respect of a person who lives in that force’s area or who the chief officer believes is in, or intending to come to, the area. The person seeking protection does not apply themselves.
When police can apply
The guidance says police should consider applying where it appears that the respondent has carried out acts associated with stalking, poses a risk of stalking to a person, and there is reasonable cause to believe an order is necessary to protect that person. A magistrates’ court may make an order only where similar criteria in section 2(1) of the Act are satisfied. The person to be protected does not need to have been the victim of the earlier acts.
The guidance also makes several points that matter for a household:
- Risk can be physical or psychological harm, or physical damage to property.
- Acts that look harmless alone, such as unwanted gifts or flowers, may be stalking when combined with other behaviour.
- An application can be made whether or not the police pursue a prosecution, and at any stage up to and after conviction or acquittal.
- Police can consider an order to protect people connected to the victim, not only the victim.
- Orders can be sought against children aged 10 and over, in which case cases go to the youth courts.
- Orders are not limited to stranger stalking and can be used in a domestic abuse context, including after a relationship has ended.
Interim orders
An interim order is a temporary order imposing prohibitions or requirements the court considers appropriate, aimed at protecting a victim between the application and the full decision. The guidance says the court may make one if it considers it appropriate to do so, a lower threshold than for a full order, and that it is intended for limited periods. Breach of an interim order is an offence with the same maximum penalty as breach of a full order.
What an order can prohibit or require
The guidance lists conditions police may ask for, while noting that the magistrates’ court makes the final decision and that the list is not exhaustive. Prohibitions could include:
- entering certain locations or defined areas where the victim lives or often goes;
- contacting the victim by any means, or through third parties;
- referring to the victim on social media;
- recording images of the victim;
- physically approaching the victim, at all or within a specified area or map boundary; and
- any form of surveillance of the victim.
Positive requirements could include attending an assessment or a perpetrator programme, surrendering devices, giving police access to accounts, phones and passwords, or signing on at a police station. The guidance tells police not to ask for electronic monitoring because the infrastructure is not in place. Conditions are meant to be clear, specific and proportionate, and police are advised to consult the victim on the conditions they want.
Length, reach and breach
An order lasts for the fixed period the court specifies, which must be at least two years, or until a further order is made. Different conditions can run for different periods. A prohibition or requirement has effect throughout the United Kingdom unless expressly limited to a locality. A person who breaches an SPO or an interim order without reasonable excuse commits a criminal offence, and the guidance says the CPS is involved if a breach is prosecuted.
Recent changes
GOV.UK’s factsheet on the Crime and Policing Act 2026 says the Act amends the Stalking Protection Act 2019 and the Sentencing Code so that courts can make an SPO on conviction or acquittal without a police application, and so that the civil standard of proof, the balance of probabilities, applies to SPOs. The factsheet also describes a Home Secretary duty to issue multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking. Northern Ireland changes are made through the Protection from Stalking Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. The 2024 guidance predates these changes, so current procedure should be confirmed with the police.
Questions people ask
Can I apply for an SPO myself? Under the guidance, applications are made by the police, not by the person being protected.
Does an SPO replace reporting stalking as a crime? No. The guidance says an SPO does not replace prosecution under the 1997 Act and can complement it.
The bottom line
A Stalking Protection Order is a civil, police-led tool in England and Wales that can restrict a person’s contact, approaches, recording and surveillance for at least two years without waiting for a conviction, with breach a criminal offence. It sits alongside, not instead of, prosecution. Anyone worried about stalking at home should report it to the police, who make the application decision.