All 50 US states have enacted stalking laws, requiring a pattern of intentional harassing behavior, intimidation, and fear or distress in the victim. Stalking can involve surveillance, unannounced visits, and unwanted phone calls or text messages. Investigations require an understanding of the relationship between victim and stalker, with red flags in the stalker’s history including substance abuse and a history of violence. Personal stalker interviews may admit wrongdoing, but most stalkers minimize or deny their behavior.
In 1990, California passed the first state criminal law that allowed stalking charges against individuals who engage in stalking behavior. During the next nine years, all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, enacted stalking laws, with New York most recently in 1999. Under most state laws, three elements must be in place for stalking allegations to to collect. There must be a pattern of intentional annoying, frightening, or harassing behavior, such as repetitive phone calls, letters, vandalism, chasing, or other unwanted behavior. In addition, there must be credible implicit or explicit intimidation of the victim or her family, and the victim must experience actual fear or distress as a result of the behavior.
According to victim research, approximately two to six million victims experience stalking each year in the United States, the prevalence depending on the definition of stalking. Victims describe many forms of stalking behavior that prompt them to file a complaint. The most commonly reported stalking behaviors include surveillance, unannounced visits, spying, and unwanted phone calls or text messages. Approximately 66% of stalking incidents involve ex-spouses or individuals with whom the victim has had intimate relationships in the past. Only five percent of stalking cases involve strangers.
Federal stalking charges can arise from interstate or cyber stalking. In 12 states, even early stalking incidents warrant a stalking charge. Thirteen states reserve criminal charges for repeated stalking. In the other 25 states, a stalking charge can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances of the case.
Central to an investigation into stalking allegations is an understanding that stalking cases are very different from other crime cases. Stalking cases go on for a long time, taking up a huge number of hours. The crime is in progress, not an isolated incident. Important features of a case include psychiatric concerns, motivation for stalking, and the relationship between victim and stalker. For example, investigators discover that stalkers, who have had intimate relationships with the victim in the past, often have personality disorders, with motivations such as jealousy, a need for control or revenge.
Investigations of stalking allegations require victims to be in danger. Red flags in the stalker’s history include substance abuse, history of violence, anger tendencies, and major stressors. Search warrants for the stalker’s home should include newspapers, photos of the victim, maps or drawings of the victim’s home or workplace, keys to the victim’s home, and surveillance equipment. Personal stalker interviews may admit wrongdoing, but most stalkers minimize their behavior, rationalize it, or deny it altogether.
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