The following excerpt detailing how to investigate and document stalking cases is from “O’Hara’s Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation Tenth Edition” available on Amazon. This edition reflects new developments in forensic science, criminalistics, computerization, electronic databases, and the Internet while remaining focused on the fundamentals of criminal investigation to help investigators build a solid foundation of investigative skills.
Stalking
Stalking was not viewed as a crime until the 1990s when California enacted the first statute prohibiting it. About eight percent of women and two percent of men have reported being stalked at one time in their lives. It may appear innocent in the beginning, but often evolves into frightening behavior. A former friend, date, partner or spouse begins calling or leaving notes. Suspects do not accept that their attention is unwanted and the relationship is over. They will not go away. Victims may be followed or openly threatened. The workplace, school, or home no longer feels safe. Unwanted notes, cards, social media posts, texts, GPS tracking, and presents may be replaced by annoying or frightening behavior. Victimsí may find their credit cards canceled, jobs sabotaged, vehicles damaged, or pets stolen or killed. Suspects may become out-of-control, emotional terrorists who threaten, act violently, and defy restraining orders.
Stalking represents a major law enforcement problem because of its pervasiveness, difficulty to control, and the possibility of tragic consequences. Although stalking can be directed at anyone, most victims are women. What is also disturbing is the number of women killed annually by ex-boyfriends and ex-husbands. The FBI claims that one-third of women who are slain are killed by male offenders with a prior intimate relationship with the victim.
Stalking is a serious problem because it creates a climate of fear around victims and their families. It is often difficult to recognize because it involves a series of events that, in the initial stages, may appear to be innocuous. For example, standing on a street corner or walking down the sidewalk are both non-threatening and legal activities. When they occur in the context of a stalking case, these activities become dangerous and illegal. If the police treat incidents in isolation, little can be done. It is a pattern of incidents that cross the threshold from innocent behavior to stalking. In jurisdictions where each complaint is handled by a different police officer, there may not be a mechanism for recognizing stalking behavior.
There are many types of stalkers. The love-scorn stalkers intend to use non-fatal violence to demonstrate their love for the victim. Their principle motivation is not sexual. Domestic stalkers prey upon former intimate partners in an effort to get even. Political stalkers carefully select a stranger and engage in carefully planned activities motivated by a political ideology. Hit stalkers have no personal relationship with their victims and are motivated by the money of a contract killing. The celebrity stalker typically targets a movie star, television personality, or sports figure. They are strangers to their victim and the principle motivation is not sexual. The lust stalkers do not know their victim but are sexually attracted to them. Some stalkers suffer from a psychological condition known as erotomania where stalkers falsely believe their victims are in love with them.
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Definition of stalking
Stalking is the following or harassing of another accompanied with a credible threat of violence. Stalking behavior consists of repetitive acts, such as following or spying on the victim, laying in-wait, attempting to communicate by telephone, mail, or messaging, acting in a threatening manner toward the victim and victimís friends, vandalism, sending bizarre letters, and making death threats. It is against the law in all fifty states. Although the laws have varying definitions of the crime, they usually include a list of prohibited acts, a course of conduct (usually two or more acts), and a stated or implied credible threat of violence. Prohibited activity generally includes repeated occurrences of close physical or visual proximity, nonconsensual communication, overt or implied threats, or other acts that cause fear.
Legal issues
Stalking legislation is unusual because it prohibits the repetition of what may be considered ordinary behavior. Many otherwise legal activities can constitute stalking behavior. Critics claim stalking laws are overly vague and ambiguous. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) believes that anti-stalking laws leave citizens confused over what is illegal conduct. For instance, a legal activity, such as walking in your own neighborhood, may become stalking activity if your ex-partner or your ex-spouse also lives there. Because anti-stalking laws do not clearly define prohibited conduct, it leaves wide discretion to the police, the prosecutor, and the courts. Marital disputes may produce false accusations and criminal charges being brought. Critics maintain that stalking behavior is already handled adequately by laws prohibiting harassment, assault, battery, trespass, violation of orders of protection, and forcible entry. In this view, stalking legislation is an unnecessary response to a problem already handled adequately by existing laws. Careful stalkers, though, might be able to confine their activities to legal acts and continue to harass their victims for years if not for anti-stalking legislation.
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The dynamics of stalking
The victim and the offender see their situation from very different perspectives. Victims simply want to be free of a person who wants to control and emotionally abuse them. Victims see offenders wanting to maintain power over them. Ex-husbands who stalked were significantly more likely to have engaged in abusive or controlling behavior while married than men who do not stalk. A portrait emerges of a manipulative, possessive, controlling person who is desperately trying to maintain power over a former partner after the relationship has ended. When stalkers realize they cannot recapture victims, they seek revenge, escalate emotional violence (unwanted phone calls), damage property (vandalism, harming a pet), and then move to physical violence against the victim. Offenders may be emotionally distraught and mean no harm.
Their goal is often to reconcile, and they are willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal. Stalkers tend to be insecure and are unable to tolerate rejection. They may drink heavily and abuse drugs. They may progress from the desire for reconciliation, to feeling victimized, and finally turning to revenge. They want the world to understand their feelings and seek sympathy. They want their victims to suffer and to feel what they feel. They may sabotage the victimsí job or credit rating, or vandalize their car or home, before turning to violence. After a while, they will realize their actions are futile and believe that victims have destroyed their lives. They feel they are the true victims. Not all offenders go through these stages. Stalking may end by such things as the victim or offender relocating, the offender developing a new love interest, or the police intervening.
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Managing threats and interventions
Threat management may involve intervention with both victims and offenders to control or eliminate inappropriate behavior. Victim interventions may include education, behavior modification, and therapeutic counseling. Education will consist of informing victims of the nature of the crime, personal protection measures, what the police are legally able to do, and how to document the case for a possible trial. Behavior modification consists of suggesting lifestyle changes including protecting privacy, changing locks and phone numbers, changing social habits, informing employers, and, in extreme cases, moving. Therapeutic intervention involves offering emotional support to the victim and recommending support groups.
Because the charge of stalking involves a series of incidents, victims should be encouraged to document their cases by keeping records of any contact with offenders, such as telephone calls, e-mails, text messages, letters, packages, or faxes. Inform victims not to respond to any communication from the stalker. Letters, e-mails, text messages, packages, and faxes should be preserved as evidence. Victims should keep journals describing how their stalkers have affected their lifestyles. Include days missed from work, sleepless nights, visits to counselors and any other information that could inform a jury of the victimsí fear and trauma. Journals are also helpful in refreshing victimsí memories if the case goes to trial.
Offender intervention
After interviewing the victim, investigators should have a basis to assess the type of case and offender. The next step is to determine an appropriate strategy for dealing with the offender. The options include contacts through telephone, mail, face-to-face, protective restraining orders, mental health diversions, or incarceration. Depending on the severity of the case, one or more of these options are employed. In less serious cases, offenders may be contacted by mail or telephone to inform them of laws against stalking and the consequences of their behavior. In more serious cases, it may be necessary to conduct interviews that may provide an opportunity for incriminating admissions.
If the stalking continues, victims should be encouraged to obtain a protective restraining order against offenders. These should be strictly enforced by the police. Making arrests for trespassing, harassment or a violation of a restraining order can be a useful tactic. These charges are easier to prove than stalking and a conviction could be helpful in eventually establishing a stalking case. Surveillance cameras can be installed at victimsí homes to gather evidence. Search warrants may uncover spying equipment or the presence of victimsí belongings at offenders’ homes.
If investigators ìup the anteî after each incident with warnings, interviews, restraining orders, search warrants, surveillance, and finally arrest, they can turn the table on stalkers. In many cases, stalkers are self-centered, manipulative people who take satisfaction in instilling fear but find it difficult to deal with the pressure of an investigation.
Training questions to improve stalking investigations
- What specific behaviors signal that a case has escalated from harassment to stalking?
- How can investigators build a clear evidentiary record to show a pattern of conduct?
- What proactive steps can officers take to help protect victims and prevent escalation?
- How can departments ensure stalking cases aren’t lost amid separate incident reports?
- What multidisciplinary resources — such as mental health or victim advocacy — should be part of a stalking response plan?
