Stalking Victimization: Examining the Impact of Police Action and Inaction on Victim-Reported Outcome

Drawing data from a sample of stalking victims, this study assessed the impact of nine subsequent police actions, including police inaction, on victim-reported outcome of their stalking situation after the incident was reported to the police. The outcome variable has three response categories: the situation got worse, the situation stayed the same, and the situation got better. The author found three of the nine police actions were significantly related to the outcome variable. The author found that victims were more likely to report that their stalking situation improved when the responding officer took a report or warned the perpetrator. The author also found that police inaction increased the odds of victims reporting that their stalking situation worsened as well as the odds of victims reporting that their stalking situation improved. Implications of these findings are discussed

Stalking: An Examination of the Correlates of Subsequent Police Responses

Purpose: Few studies have explored the correlates of police responses to the crime of stalking. The purpose of this paper is to examine the correlates of nine specific police actions (no action, multiple actions, took a report, talked to perpetrator, arrested perpetrator, recommended PO or RO, recommended self-protection, referred to prosecutor’s office and referred to social services) to this type of crime. This study found three of the four incident measures (victim-offender relationship, intimidation and physical injury) and three of the four victim demographic measures (age, gender and marital status) significantly predicted seven of the nine police actions. Design/methodology/approach: Data for this study came from the 2006 Stalking Victimization Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The sample included stalking cases that were reported to the police and all measures were constructed using victims’ responses to survey questionnaires. Nine logistic regression models were estimated and in each model, four incident characteristic variables and four victim demographic variables were regressed on each of the nine police actions. Findings: This study found three of the four incident characteristic measures (victim-offender relationship, intimidation, and physical injury) and three of the four victim demographic variables (age, gender and marital status) were significantly related to seven of the nine specific police actions (no action, multiple actions, arrested perpetrator, recommended PO or RO, recommended self-protection, referred to prosecutor’s office and referred to social services). None of the incident characteristic and victim demographic measures were related to two of the nine specific police actions (took a report and talked to perpetrator). Research limitations/implications: This study possesses the same shortcomings associated with the NCVS. The current study involves cross-sectional, official data that are over 10 years old. The measures employed in the current study are victims’ perceptions of how the officers acted. The study does not include information regarding how many times the victim contacted the police or the nature of the stalking episode. The study excludes other variables (suspect’s demeanor, the presence of witnesses) that may be relevant in examining subsequent police responses to stalking. Practical implications: Frontline offices should be required to undertake stalking training. Further, stalking training needs to be conducted independently from domestic violence training. Mandatory stalking training for law enforcement officers will lead to a greater comprehension of existing stalking statute for the officers as well as help increase the number of offenders being identified and charged with this crime by the officers. Social implications: Police inaction to reported stalking not only dissuade victims from reporting future victimizations, it will also result in stalking being an under-reported crime. Police inaction could potentially compromise victim safety and/or offender accountability. Police inaction also undermines the legitimacy of law enforcement and attenuates the relationship between citizens and police agencies. Originality/value: To date, only one study has examined the correlates of subsequent police responses to the crime of stalking. However, this study employed broad measures of police actions (formal and informal). The current study involves specific police actions (e.g. taking a report, referring the victim to social service agencies). Contrary to the prior study that found none of the incident and victim characteristics was related to two broad measures of subsequent police responses, this study found several incident and victim measures significantly predicted seven specific police actions

Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Stalking in the United States: An Exploration of the Correlates of Informal and Formal Coping Strategies of the Victims

The purpose of the current study is to explore the correlates of informal and formal coping strategies in same-sex and opposite-sex stalking contexts. More specifically, using four sex dyads - female victims who were stalked by a male (M-F), male victims who were stalked by a female (F-M), female victims who were stalked by a female (F-F), and male victims who were stalked by a male (M-M) - this study examined the effects of three incident and four victim and offender characteristic variables on six informal and formal coping strategies. The results reveal more similarities than differences in terms of victim help-seeking behaviors among same-sex and opposite-sex stalking cases. However, there were also notable differences among the four sex dyads

Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Stalking in the United States: An Exploration of the Correlates of Informal and Formal Coping Strategies of the Victims

The purpose of the current study is to explore the correlates of informal and formal coping strategies in same-sex and opposite-sex stalking contexts. More specifically, using four sex dyads - female victims who were stalked by a male (M-F), male victims who were stalked by a female (F-M), female victims who were stalked by a female (F-F), and male victims who were stalked by a male (M-M) - this study examined the effects of three incident and four victim and offender characteristic variables on six informal and formal coping strategies. The results reveal more similarities than differences in terms of victim help-seeking behaviors among same-sex and opposite-sex stalking cases. However, there were also notable differences among the four sex dyads

Stalking

In the United States, stalking was not considered a crime until 1990 when California passed the nation\u27s first antistalking law. Although legal definitions of stalking vary across states, stalking is generally defined as repeatedly following, harassing, and menacing another person with the intent to cause fear in the victim. Stalking represents another form of aggression and violence in interpersonal relationships. Stalking can take many forms and appears to be quite common and part of everyday life experiences for many people. The fears, emotional, and financial distress that stalking victims endure are many and varied. Empirical findings from a growing body of research on stalking have rendered this type of victimization as a serious social problem and criminal justice concern that warrants attention and prevention

Contemporaneous and Lagged Effects of Life Domains and Substance Use: A Test of Agnew\u27s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency

This study presents a partial test of Agnew’s general theory of crime and delinquency. Relying on a sample of adolescents and employing measures of the self, family, school, and peers domains, this study examines the contemporaneous and lagged effects of these four life domains on the likelihood of consuming alcohol and using marijuana. This study also assesses the contemporaneous and lagged effects of the life domain variables on themselves and on one another. Overall, the results lend support for Agnew’s general theory. The results also reveal several notable puzzles and underscore the complexity of this potentially important contemporary theoretical perspective

Visitor (Trader) Harassment: Two Drivers Not Examined.....Criminological Theories Explored

Prior to the 2020 Corona virus pandemic (COVID-19), the harassment of visitors by local micro-traders was of significant concern to tourism leaders around the world, and this was occurring while many of the factors fuelling such behaviours remain unknown. The goal of the present discourse was to introduce two criminological theories that may result in the discovery of drivers not yet examined through empirical research. In fact, the authors suggested that in addition to other factors the phenomenon may also be due to micro-traders experiencing low levels of self-control and negative strain, factors that could heighten post COVID-1