Police forces have improved the way they handle stalking and harassment cases, a watchdog has found, but there is still some way to go.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has just published a detailed investigation into the way Surrey police has dealt with its cases and the changes in approach nationally since an earlier inspection of six forces two yeas ago.

The inspectors found there had been improvements, but suggested further progress was needed.

Her Majesty's Inspector Wendy Williams said: "Despite some cases being dealt with well, there were still more that could have been handled better.

“In the past two years, reports of stalking and harassment have increased by more than 40 per cent across England and Wales. While it is positive that forces are better at identifying crimes of this nature, it highlights the scale of the problem, and the need for an effective and consistent solution."

The watchdog said there was no single definition of stalking that all police forces and government departments had adopted. As a result, police forces were not consistently identifying stalking and protecting victims.

Not all forces were properly implementing changes made to the Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime in relation to malicious communication offences. It was possible that forces might not be properly assessing the risks to victims and the likelihood of repeat offending.

The inspectors also felt police forces were not protecting victims of harassment as well as they could, because they were not using injunctions to prevent nuisance and annoyance consistently.

Finally some police forces did not use their power of entry and search effectively, and therefore stalking investigations were not as thorough as they could be.

The full report can be found here.