Police Officers’ Attitudes and Challenges With Charging Stalking

Abstract

This study examined 2 groups of police officers on perceived barriers and attitudes related to charging stalking. Police officers who categorized into groups based on if they had (n=73) or had not (n=90) previously charged stalking. Results indicated that officers who had never charged stalking viewed stalking as less dangerous, believed that officers do not file reports when called for stalking, and perceived all barriers related to charging stalking as more challenging than officers who had previously charged stalking. Officers who charged stalking had greater comprehension of the stalking statute and identified specific problems within the statute. The results have implications related to improving specialized police training in an effort to better protect victims of stalking and increase stalking charges.

The Nexus Between Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking: Examining the Arrest Decision

“…Advances in technology have created avenues for perpetrators to maintain contact with victims through electronic communication or internet-capable devices (Reyns et al, 2011; Spitzberg, 2016). Stalking is further complicated where the police and victim are working in concert during the investigative process because victims are often relied upon to save and/or maintain evidence (e.g., letters, text messages, voice mail, and other electronic or technological communication) to display a pattern of contact (Lynch & Logan, 2015). This translates to multiple interactions with police, which may frustrate police and inhibit victim cooperation.…”

“…Limited studies have examined police response to stalking (Brady & Nobles, 2017; Jasinski & Mustaine, 2001; Jordan et al, 2003; Storey & Hart, 2011; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000) and have noted shortcomings. Police may not recognize stalking behavior or may not fully understand the statute guiding their jurisdiction (Lynch & Logan, 2015). Officers may use alternative offense codes to produce case dispositions that can be applied to a single incident, like harassment or terroristic threat, rather than statutes that capture unwanted pursuit behavior over time (Brady & Nobles, 2017).…”

“…Consequently, officers are tasked with delineating events in the current incident from the broader context of pursuit behavior. This may be difficult for police who have not had extensive experience in responding to stalking incidents and they may be unwilling or unable to devote time, energy, and resources (Horwitz et al, 2011; Lynch & Logan, 2015).…”

“…In addition, police response to stalking has been plagued with similar limitations that impeded IPV case processing. For example, police have reiterated some of the same stereotypes and cultural myths commonly endorsed for IPV (Scott et al, 2013; Weller et al, 2013)—that victims who know their assailants hold some responsibility for precipitating stalking (Lynch & Logan, 2015; Scott et al, 2013; Weller et al, 2013). Police responses have been characterized by the underidentification of stalking, limited knowledge of stalking statutes, and confounding stalking with other offenses (Brady & Nobles, 2017; Jasinski & Mustaine, 2001; Jordan et al, 2003; Lynch & Logan, 2015).…”

A Sign of the Crimes: Examining Officers’ Identification of, and Arrest for, Stalking in Domestic Violence Complaints

“…Furthermore, studies have found that officers make decisions in a downstream orientation in which an arrest depends on the likelihood of prosecutors filing formal charges (Frohmann, 1997;Klein et al, 2009;Lynch & Logan, 2015;Spohn & Tellis, 2019). Prosecutors file charges based on convictability (Albonetti, 1986(Albonetti, , 1987 and thus, the amount of time and resources dedicated to a stalking investigation may be contingent on officers' perceptions of whether prosecutors would accept the case for prosecution.…”