Prior to the early 1990’s there were not any anti-stalking statues in the United States leaving many victims with little protection or help available from the legal system. This changed however in 1990 when California became the first state in the union to pass a state-wide anti-stalking law which declares that “any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family is guilty of the crime of stalking” (Cal Pen Code § 646.9, 2008), in this case the law indentifys a credible threat as a verbal or written threat, which can be sent electronically either through a computer, cellphone, or others, that the offender has the means to carry out. However, while California and the other
On April 8, 2016 at approximately 1500 hours, I made contact with Heather Curtis at 8307 Centennial Road in reference to a domestic dispute. Mrs. Curtis stated that her husband Marc Curtis sent her multiple text messages to her phone stating that she couldn’t have the kids and that the police would have to kill him before he goes to jail or give her the kids back. This was the result of an argument after Mrs. Curtis refused to pick him up from work because he had taken her EBT card. Mrs. Curtis stated that he hasn’t been acting normal and may possibly be going through a psychotic break. Mrs. Curtis was advised to go to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to get a restraining order and given a copy of this report number. Mrs. Curtis was also
FOREWORD: It is to my immense displeasure to report the disappearance of most of Stalker squad and their commanding officer, Senior Sergeant Zur of our special operations division. All contact was lost with Stalker squad after Specter emerged from the tunnels, and due to the sheer size of the tunnel network adjacent to the bunker under the compound, not to mention the strange occurrences that took place there, I had no choice but to order the squad’s evacuation.
Before delving into the main points, the definition of stalking must be outlined. According to Patricia Tjaden and Nancy Thoennes, in their study of the National Violence Against Women Survey, “Stalking generally refers to harassing or threatening behavior that an individual engages in repeatedly, such as following a person, appearing at a per son 's home or place of business, making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing a person 's property. These actions may or
Cyber stalking can result in penalties beyond jail time. Thus, if the harassment is proven to be damaging, it could result in a conviction that requires a defendant to register as a sex offender (Followill, 2015). Numerous employers and renters will not accept or hire someone who is registered as a sex
Just as stalking “in real life” is a crime in California, as it is in most states, stalking someone online is also a serious criminal offense.
The following article is both interesting and informative when it comes to the final paper product as it deals specifically with laws against stalking; the following research examines and evaluates the anti-stalking laws in place around the United States along with their effectiveness. Richard A. Lingg compares the other set of the anti-stalking statutes around the country with that of California, one of the first states to enact stalking laws and make it a punishable offense in the 90’s, in doing so he spilt the laws into two groups; one where other states have adopted California’s law with no modifications and the other is roughly based on the original law but has a broader range. The original California law and the states that adopted it
In the article College Student Perceptions of Criminal Justice System Responses to Stalking (2011) the authors explain the methods they had used and examples of past and current research in order to give an insight as what is being explained throughout the article. The current study used a survey that had been administered to undergraduate college students from a large east coast university to examine whether extra-legal factors influenced their personal judgements of criminal justice system responsiveness to stalking (Cass & Rosay, 2011). Stalking and to how it is perceived by college students was the question. There are specified statistics as to where victimization rates range from, for example 13 percent to 30 percent and other estimates
I drew this conclusion and told him that I didn't want to talk and that I am heading home. His reaction to this was very
Stalking is a terrifying and potentially lethal crime that seems to be on the rise in recent years. While the act itself can be displayed in a variety of ways with many different motivations, the effects on the victims always result in some sort of fear, anxiety, and paranoia among others, along with crippling the victim financially. The media portrayal of stalking can lead to misconceptions about the crime and minizations of the behavior by the general public can lead to a secondary victimization and cause the crime to go unreported. Although anti-stalking laws exist they vary from state to state and may not always provide the adequate of protection, even a person convicted of stalking will only serve a year or less in prison if no other charges
Stalking is a very dangerous form of violence and is more common than people think. As a society we have many different ideas of what the definition of stalking is. There are many different forms of stalking, sure some of them may seem harmless but it is difficult to differentiate harmful situations and acts from harmless situations and acts. The main thing that makes it stalking is it is a form of abuse is that it is unwanted by the victim. Before the paper starts it is going to define stalking, a little history, and some of its forms.
Before the increased popularity of stalking being seen as a crime, the only refuge for a victim was a restraining (or no contact) order. The fault with this protection lies in the fact that no action could be taken, as far as arrest or prosecution, unless a perpetrator continued the offense after being served with the court orders prohibiting them to do so. In order to be granted a restraining order, you must testify and have sufficient evidence proving the probable cause that the stalker is directly violating state law with the actions that they are taking upon you. This is why it is important to have documentation of every unwanted incident that you encounter so that you are able to prove the actions and stop the stalker from making further contact.
Some people think that stalking can only happen to celebrities, but in reality, it can happen to regular people. According, to the Network of Victim Assistance, 6.6 million people in the United States are victims of stalking every year, with 75-80% of the reported cases involving males stalking females. Stalking and Obsession is a concept that should be taken seriously. Colette Dwyer suffers from guilt and declares that three women would still be alive if authorities had truly believed her.
Stalking is a relatively new crime in which is defined by as unwanted obsessive behavior by a group or individual toward another person. Stalking can be categorized as a domestic violence crime in which one person involved in a romantic relationship with another becomes obsessed compulsively over the loss of a romantic partner due to abuses committed against a spouse or lover during the course of an intimate relationship. According to the National Institute of Justice, stalking is defined
The first stalking laws were defined by the state of Claifornia. Now all fifty states have their own state penal code defining stalking. The California Penal code 646.9. stalking. 2008 defines stalking as “any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses
1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed