Violet Alvarez from the Suzy Lamplugh trust, an anti-stalking charity, said many victims found the criminal justice system to be “inadequate and traumatic”.

She said: “Stalking is a serious and insidious crime, with 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men experiencing this crime in their lifetimes.

“The impact of stalking is devastating and can infiltrate every aspect of a victims life, with 78 per cent of victims reporting symptoms consistent with PTSD according to a recent study.”

She added: “The response that victims receive from police is often inadequate and at times dangerous as the correct charge is not put in place from the start.

“This sets a course for an erroneous investigation which fails to manage the risk for the victim.

“Delays in court proceedings due to the pandemic have further exacerbated re-traumatisation, and victim drop out rates have risen every year since 2015.”

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “Stalking and harassment are serious crimes which can have a devastating effect on the lives of victims and their friends and family.

“The police service is committed to doing everything possible to bring offenders to justice and protect victims.

“We continue to work with victim groups and partners to improve our response to stalking. We have updated the training and guidance to all officers and staff and there are now specialist advisors in each force who are responsible for improving standards.

“In the last two years, we’ve really focused our efforts on increasing the reporting of stalking offences, to understand the true extent of stalking behaviour, why it occurs and its frequency.

“We recognise there is more to do to improve the criminal justice system outcomes for victims of stalking and are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to understand the attrition of cases before the point of charge and court.

“We remain committed to bringing about the very best outcomes for all victims of these life changing crimes.”