Stalkers are using GPS tracking devices on their mobile phones to pursue their victims.
In a disturbing trend that is said to have come from America, the tactic involves the use of websites and apps that can pinpoint the location of a mobile throughout the day once the number and personal details of its user have been logged.
The Crown Prosecution Service has said that cases have already occurred in London and has warned that they formed part of a growing volume of “cyber stalking” that was overtaking more traditional means of hounding victims.
Nazir Afzal, the Crown Prosecution Service director responsible for stalking and harassment cases, said the practice was already common in the US and was starting to affect British victims.
“Stalking via GPS is one of the areas that we are getting a substantial amounts of intelligence about,” he told the Evening Standard. “We are finding cases in London and the South-East where people have had access to a person’s mobile phone and are using apps to identify where their victim is
so that they can track them and be there at the same time.”
Afzal said that as well as GPS tracking, Facebook and other networking sites were being increasingly used to find details about a victims’ movements and life.
The revelation comes on the back of a speech by Home Secretary Theresa May who said that ministers would work with businesses to counter cyber stalking and would support the specialist police officers responsible for tackling the problem.
