Stalking the Law: When Prosecutors and Police Become Victims.

• Author: Patrick, Wendy L.

DESPITE ENTERTAINMENT SCRIPTS and stereotypes, the reality is that anyone can become a stalking victim. Even those who prosecute stalkers for a living, can be stalked. Law enforcement professionals are not spared from the toxic behavior of unstable ex-partners or disgruntled ex-employees merely by virtue of their profession.

Who is most likely to become a stalking victim? Those who give stalkers what they want most: attention. That is what keeps them stalking. We think we are "being nice," "reasoning" with them, or "talking them out of" their obsessive behavior. But all we are doing when we engage, is fueling the fire.

ELEMENTS OF STALKING

Members of the general public are unfamiliar with stalking laws, often relying on Hollywood portrayals of chilling episodes of following behavior, or glamorized depictions of romantic pursuit, fueled by unrequited love. Although such scripts can be realistic, proving the crime of stalking often requires much more.

Stalking laws also require more than Facebook shadowing or "showing up" at an ex-partner's usual haunts. Stalking requires a credible threat of death or great bodily injury.

Yet in terms of qualifying behavior, stalking often requires less than people realize. Contrary to the false belief that stalking requires a flurry of threatening messages or weeks of following a victim to and from work, in many jurisdictions, the term "repeatedly" is defined as more than once.

Stalking laws also recognize the potentially increased amount of danger presented by repeat offenders, imposing enhanced penalties if a stalker violates a restraining order protecting the victim.

Because law enforcement professionals hold many different types of assignments, even seasoned members appreciate a refresher on exactly what the crime of stalking does and does not require in their jurisdiction. This is particularly important given the reality that legislative updates often create changes in the law.

Although it happens less frequently, those with the power to prosecute stalkers can become victims themselves.

You would think people might be afraid to stalk law enforcement professionals. Not so. Although statistically less frequent, it happens.

A 2015 study by Angela Guldimann et al. titled "Stalking Victimization Among Police Officers" found the frequency with which police officers became stalking victims to be low. The researchers listed possible explanations as including both professional status and personal habits. They...