VICTIMS of stalking and harassment are being urged to contact police sooner rather than later - after figures revealed a rise in the crime.

Temporary Detective Superintendent Allan Harder, of North Yorkshire Police, spoke out after the latest crime figures - reported in The Press last week - revealed a 14 per cent rise in stalking and harassment in the county.

In the year to September 2017, there were 1,302 incidents recorded by the force.

And it comes as North Yorkshire Police is about to launch a publicity drive around the crimes as part of its No Home Here campaign, which has already tackled issues such as domestic abuse and child neglect.

Mr Harder said the increase in reports of stalking and harassment were a sign of success – because more victims had the confidence to come forward to the police.

He said: “Yes there has been an increase, but more victims are coming forward. This is positive because it means we can support them.”

And he urged victims to come forward sooner if they believed they were being either harassed or stalked.

He said: “Some of this goes on for a very long time which must be an awful position for the victim to be in. They should come to us and we can work with them in a number of ways.”

He said good powers and legislation were in place to deal with perpetrators. “People can be arrested and put on bail; they can be charged and when they go to court, bail conditions can be put in place to protect the victim.” He said if a person was convicted, various orders can be made to prevent them targeting the victim further. “And people can be arrested for a breach of those orders.”

Use of the internet and social media has had an impact too, he said. “The way people can stalk and harass has changed. People can put something on somebody’s Facebook profile. Cyber security is a problem: how you look after your profile and who your friends are on it.”

Importantly, he said, victims should not wait too long before turning to the police. “A victim should never say: ‘what can the police do?’ We can do things if we know about it.” He said police officers and support staff had been giving training in dealing with stalking and harassment issues.

He said: “If people feel they are being harassed they should contact the police. If you are thinking about calling the police, you are right to call the police – let us take the details, make an assessment and give you advice.”