Hannah Parkin campaigns for Once Is Enough law after single tracker incident
Hannah Parkin wants the Once Is Enough law so a single tracking incident can be treated as stalking or harassment, after police said they could not act when a tracker was found under her car.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Woman campaigns for Once Is Enough law after single tracking incident
Hannah Parkin is campaigning for a change in the law called Once Is Enough after her abusive ex-partner tracked her car. She says police told her they could do nothing because the tracking had happened only once.
Her ex-partner approached her from behind, put his hands around her neck and strangled her. She reported him to the police. He was arrested and bailed with conditions not to contact her, and she moved house. She thought that would keep her safe.
A suspicious message then appeared on her phone: 'there's a device traveling with you.' She told her mother, who suggested it might be linked to her car. A garage found a tracking device stuck under the bumper. Police found the device was linked to her ex's phone, but told her there was nothing they could do because it had only happened once.
For a stalking or harassment charge to be brought, the Crown Prosecution Service says there must be at least two incidents. Hannah said she felt 'gutted and disappointed' and felt the system had no way of supporting her.
Domestic abuse charities say the use of tracking devices is on the rise. They say it only takes one incident for someone's location to be revealed, and a tracker is a powerful way for someone to monitor and control another person. The report also raised the concern that if perpetrators are not held to account, there is room for them to cause significant harm.
Hannah has launched the Once Is Enough campaign, calling for a law change on the two-incident rule for tracking devices. She said: 'Obviously for me, once was enough for him to find out information about me that was private and kept me safe.' She added that she wants to push for change so people cannot do that to somebody else.
The government says a review of the criminal law on stalking concluded in March. It is considering the findings and will publish its response soon. Hannah hopes the use of tracking devices will be part of that response, because she says when someone's safety is at stake, once is all it takes.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Domestic abuse charities said the use of tracking devices is on the rise. | |
| Hannah's former partner was arrested and bailed with conditions not to contact her, and she moved house. | |
| Police found a tracking device linked to her former partner's phone but said they could not act because it had happened only once. | |
| The Crown Prosecution Service requires at least two incidents before charging someone with stalking or harassment. | |
| The government said a review of the criminal law on stalking concluded in March and a response will be published soon. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The lunchtime bulletin carried a pre-recorded report by Amelia Beckett that centred on Hannah Parkin's personal account and the gap in the law on single tracking incidents. It gave equal weight to the police response, the Crown Prosecution Service's two-incident rule, charity warnings and the government's pending response. The item was followed by unrelated news, including a later item on Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
- “He kind of approached me from behind, put his hands around my neck and strangled me.”
- “A device like this that tracks your location had been stuck right under the bumper of her car.”
- “For a stalking or harassment charge to be brought, the Crown Prosecution Service told us there has to be at least two incidents.”
The evening bulletin used the same Amelia Beckett report but introduced it with a presenter lead that stressed police had told Hannah Parkin they were powerless. The package's editorial focus was identical to lunchtime, covering the attack, the tracker under her car, the two-incident charging rule and the Once Is Enough campaign. It also included the same government and charity responses.
- “Next tonight, a woman is campaigning for a change in the law after police told her they were powerless to act when she was tracked by her abusive ex-partner.”
- “I got a message on my iPhone that said there's a device travelling with you.”
- “And that's why Hannah has now launched a campaign called Once Is Enough calling for a law change on the two incident rule when it comes to tracking devices.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.