What Drives Men Convicted of Stalking?

This event is open to all those who work in the Criminal Justice sector.

Dr Rachael Wheatley presents the findings of her doctoral research with men in custody convicted of stalking to explore what drove their behaviour and how can practitioners respond to this. The session raises awareness of the experiential journey of men who have committed stalking offences, and highlights their needs in relation to considering desistance from further offending. It introduces a new engagement technique for research and practitioner use and provides time to discuss concepts, as well as a subsequent question and answer session.

Dr Rachael Wheatley qualified as a Forensic Psychologist in 2004 and has been employed by HMPPS since 2001. Rachael has held a number of positions within this organisation and has worked across a wide range of prisons in the male estate, including a number of years in a female prison. Since being trained in the use of the Stalking Risk Profile a decade ago she has specialised in working with those convicted of stalking offences held in custody. She is an active practitioner, provides case advice and training, is developing national psychology services strategic responses to stalking, and is contributing to wider HMPPS strategies for addressing stalking. Rachael completed her doctoral studies in August 2019 focusing on ‘What drives adult males who stalk and how practitioners can best respond to their needs’. She currently holds the position of Cluster Psychology Lead in the Midlands region, responsible for leading on strategic work strands including leading the Midlands Stalking Advisory Hub (MidlandsStalkingAdvisoryHub@justice.gov.uk).