The Crime of Stalking

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The Crime of Stalking

Stalking has been around since the beginning of time. Men and women alike have been accused of such a crime cause they either can't get it out of their head that the other person does not want to have anything to do with them, or they are just obsessed with a stranger. It is just recent that they United States Government have decided to make stalking a crime in it self. This type of crime was labeled as harassment, annoyance, or domestic violence. It wasn?t until the 80's and 90's that stalking cases were brought to the attention of the media and high political policy makers.

I suppose that I should inform you as to the legal definition of stalking before I go any further with this paper. There really is no one definition, each state has the right to put down on paper their own definition of what they this is stalking. Most states will agree that stalking is a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment or another individual that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested. Basically this is saying that in order for there to be stalking, a person need to feel like their life is in danger, they are unable to lead a normal life cause of another person that won?t leave them alone.

There are three main types of stalkers. The first one is the simple obsession type. This is probably the most common one consisting of 70 to 80 percent of all stalking cases. Most of these were brought on when a relationship of some type was terminated. This could have been a business relationship, neighbor, customer, dating or even a lover. These people are also seen as the most dangerous. In cases where the two people were dating or lovers, they become obsessed with getting the relationship back, not with the sexual aspect. This type of stalker has a low self-esteem and feels that their partner is the only positive thing in their life. They fear losing this person, for they become dependant on them for their support and sense of achievement. They literally feel that without this person being an active and positive part in their life that they are worthless. They do not realize that they are driving the person further from them, they think that they a...

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... Expecting police to solve your problem and hope it goes away

8. Taking adequate privacy and safety precautions

9. Neglecting to enlist the support of family and friends.

10. Ignoring their emotional need before and after a stalking .

This is only the top ten mistake that a victim makes.

There are probably plenty others, and if a person feels like a they are a victim of stalking then they need to get some help.

In conclusion, stalking is not something to be taken lightly. It is a serious crime that affects thousands of people each year. Recent laws are making it safer for the victim, but there is a lot more that needs to be done, and as long as there are men and women on this earth then there is going to be stalking.

Works Cited

1. Heavy Hands, by: Denise Gosslin. Prentice Hall 2000. Pp. 316-326

2. National Call for Law Enforcement Stalking Protocol, by: David Anderson (6 Mar. 2000) <http://www.ncvc.org/stalking_protocol.htm>

3. Top Ten Mistakes, by: Clairity Consulting. (6 Mar. 2000)

http://www.stalkingvictims.com/mistakes.html

4. Stalker Definition, by: Zona. (6 Mar. 2000)

http://onour.com/stalking/definiti.htm

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