CHAPTER FOURTEEN

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

• STALKING

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What is Stalking?

• Knowing, purposeful course of conduct directed at
  a specific person that would cause a reasonable
  person to fear bodily injury or death to
  him/herself or a member of his or her immediate
  family

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History of Anti-Stalking Laws

• 1st lawCalifornia in 1990
• 1993all states have some form of anti-stalking
  law
• 1996federal anti-stalking law

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Who is Stalked?

• NVAW Survey
• 8000 men and 8000 women
• Results
• 1 million women each year
• 370,000 men each year
• 8 of women
• 2 of men
• 76 of homicides of intimate partners involved
  stalking

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Who are Stalkers?

• ALL categories
• 75-80 are male
• Young to middle-age
• Above-average intelligence
• Every socio-economic background
• Intimate/DV stalkers
• Male
• Controlling, dependent personalities
• Rigid personalities

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Types of Stalkers

• Simple obsessional
• Also called intimate partner stalker
• Love obsessional
• Erotomania

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Simple Obsessional

• Involves intimate relationships
• MOST dangerous type
• Prior criminal recordrisk
• Communicated threatshigh risk

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Love Obsessional

• No relationship
• Initial contacts by correspondence
• Enhanced risk factors

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Erotomania

• Believes s/he loved by another
• Variety of contact behaviors
• Not likely to harm target
• When can it turn dangerous?

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Duration of Obsession

• SIMPLE OBSESSION -
• 13 MONTHS
• LOVE OBSESSION -
• 63 MONTHS
• EROTOMANIA -
• 100 MONTHS

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Duration of Contact

• SIMPLE OBSESSION
• 13 MONTHS
• LOVE OBSESSION -
• 14 MONTHS
• EROTOMANIA -
• 34 MONTHS

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Stages

• Tension building
• Violence
• Hearts and flowers

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Stalking Behavior (Not all-inclusive)

• Annoying or repeated phone calls
• Unwanted cards, gifts or letters
• Following the victim
• Photographing the victim
• Vandalizing the victims car or home
• Phoning/showing up at victims workplace

• Obtaining info about the victim
• Taking or destroying victims mail/property
• Sending/leaving dead animals/garbage
• Making threats
• Harassing or doing any of these acts to victims
  family members, friends, coworkers

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New Yorks Anti-Stalking Law

• Contained in Penal Law Sec. 120.40-120.60
• Stalking 4th B misdemeanor 90 days
• Stalking 3rd A misdemeanor 1 year
• Stalking 2nd E felony up to 4 years
• Stalking 1st D violent felony up to 7 years

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PL Section 120.45Stalking 4th Degree

• Intentionally
• No legitimate purpose
• Engages in course of conduct
• Knows or reasonably should know
• Likely to cause reasonable fear of material harm
  to health, safety or property of victim or
  immediate family

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Reasonable FearContext is Everything!

• Why did the flowers at her doorstep make her
  scream?
• What does that message mean on the answering
  machine/email/letter?
• Historical context
• Context important to determine if is stalking or
  may be a death threat

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Orders of Protection

• Can be controversial
• Can provoke stalker especially where
  ineffective response by system
• Alternatives may prove more helpful at times

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Constitutional Issues

• Freedom of speech
• Overbreadth
• Vague
• So far have been upheld as constitutional

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Safety Precautions

• Dog
• Block address with MVD
• Never give out address and phone number
• Screen calls at work
• Dont accept packages
• Locking gas cap

• Destroy discarded mail
• Cell phone
• Use horn for attention
• All-night stores and police station
• Consider moving
• Join support group

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Impact on Victim

• STALKING IS ONE OF THE MOST PSYCHOLOGICALLY
  CRIPPLING THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN TO A PERSON
• It takes away the victims
• Freedom
• Security
• Will to live
• Emotional/psychological reactions

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Innovative Responses

• Suspect intervention
• Ft. Lauderdale case
• Dover, NHvideo shown to all defendants booked on
  stalking charges

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STALKING

• END CHAPTER FOURTEEN