Tuesday February 10th 2026
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Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
Stalking crimes in Edinburgh are up 40 percent in the six months to September over the same time period a year before, according to new crime statistics released by Police Scotland.
It comes as BBC Scotland presenter Anne McAlpine on Monday described her nearly four-year ordeal with her stalker, 71-year-old Robert Green, to the broadcaster.
She said the experience left her ‘terrified’ as she detailed an incident where he appeared outside her home when a colleague was dropping her off.
Scottish charity Action Against Stalking defines stalking on their website as ‘two or more behaviours’ where a perpetrator’s behaviour causes a victim to suffer fear and alarm.
They add that stalking can be in person or online, and occur in a range of contexts.
The charity says the four main signs of stalking to watch out for are fixation, obsession, unwanted contact and repetitive contact.
The data shows that 37 stalking offences were registered in Edinburgh between April and September 2024, versus 52 in the same time period in 2025.
Councillors will review the figures, which include data on all crimes recorded in the capital during those time periods, at a culture and communities committee meeting on Wednesday.
Speaking on the incident at her home, McAlpine said: “It was dark and as I was getting ready to get out of the car, a man holding a carrier bag, sort of holding eye contact with me, started walking towards the car and something just felt off.
“He didn’t look like he was friendly, didn’t look like he was looking for directions or going to speak.
“He came right up to the passenger side window and just looked in, which felt really uncomfortable and strange and I said to him [my friend]: ‘I think you should drive off.”
Green also sent her letters, sometimes three or four times a week, describing the pair as being in a relationship.
He also sent unsolicited gifts, including jewellery and CDs, with the correspondence all coming to the BBC Scotland studios at Pacific Quay.
Ms McAlpine also described an incident where Green rang the buzzer to her home in the early hours of the morning.
She said: “I answered the intercom and nobody was there, so I went to the window and there was a man standing in the middle of the road holding a carrier bag, looking up at the window.
“It was actually terrifying, it was really disconcerting because whoever it was, I didn’t recognise him.
“He was holding a carrier bag – that was the thing that linked him back to the incident with getting dropped off in the car.”
Green, 71, was found guilty of stalking at Glasgow Sheriff Court in January, and was on Monday given an order to avoid contacting the presenter for life.
He was also sentenced to two years of supervision for the harassment campaign which sheriff Owen Mullen called said was ‘sinister, unwelcomed and upsetting’ for Ms McAlpine.
At the sentencing, he continued to say that Green had shown little remorse or insight into his behaviour.
Stalking became a defined offence in Scotland in 2010.
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