Stalking law set to come into force 'early next year'

Monday, 26 October 2026 at 10:47

Jersey's Home Affairs Minister says the island's new stalking law should come into force 'early next year'.

The States Assembly passed landmark legislation in March to officially recognise stalking as a standalone criminal offence for the first time

But it's yet to become law.

Senator Helen Miles said:

"I think stalking will be one of the first laws that will come into force early next year.

"We need to be able to protect vulnerable victims from that sort of behaviour, and we need offences that can tackle that for perpetrators."

As part of JCG's wider commitment to educating and empowering students to recognise unhealthy and potentially harmful behaviours in relationships, the school invited the Alice Ruggles Trust to give a presentation earlier this month.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Channel 103 (@channel103fm)

Alice was killed by her ex-boyfriend in October 2016 after his controlling behaviour during their brief relationship developed into a relentless stalking campaign.

Jessica Williams, head of the upper school at JCG, said:

"We do talk to the girls quite a lot about healthy relationships.

"We do a lot of sessions with guest speakers like Natasha Devon over the years where they can explore those sorts of healthy and unhealthy relationships, but it just means they would be recognising these signs nice and early and then they'd know that they'd come and speak to us as a student guidance team or any member of staff or their parents, to talk about whether they're feeling uncomfortable or something is just not feeling quite right."

Support services:

Victims First Jersey: 0800 7351612 or email victimsfirstjersey@gov.je

Protection against stalking: Protection Against Stalking | Look Forward Not Behind

Suzy Lamplugh Trust: Suzy Lamplugh Trust

National Stalking Helpline: 0808 8020300

Revenge Porn Helpline (18+): Revenge Porn Helpline - 0345 6000 459 | Revenge Porn Helpline

The Cyber Helpline: The Cyber Helpline | Free support with online threats

Paladin Service: Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service | Paladin Service

If it's an emergency, call 999. More information here.