Page 16 - Texas Police Journal November- December 2013
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State of Texas. obsessed psychopath with the ultimate goal of
The lack of training is creating a vacuum in the killing the victim if he cannot have him or her in
State of Texas and in the criminal justice system, the end. In reality, this is simply not true.
one in which stalkers often go unpunished and Unfortunately, officers miss indicators of
victims remain stalking, such as interpersonal dynamics,
tormented, in most cases, by the offenders. ongoing harassment, torment, and having power
Police officers are dispatched to repeated calls or control over the victim for a long period of
for service in which the victim is calling for time.
assistance with no successful outcome. In some The reality of the situation in most stalking
instances, the end result is the murder of the cases is that the suspect and victim know one
stalker by the victim or a murder- suicide in another. There is not a great deal of high
which the victim kills the stalker and then kills surveillance technology used by the stalker, and
herself or himself to end the torment. This results some of the stalking may occur while both
from a loss of security and closure, thus denying parties are married to one another or intimately
the victim any chance of justice, peace, and involved. Tjaden and Thoennes (2000) reported
recovery. in their study that a review of 1,785 domestic
The focus of this research is to identify the gaps crime reports showed that one in six (16.5%) of
in current police training and procedures, as those reports contained evidence that the
well as to suggest techniques that will enhance suspect stalked the victim. The suspect and
the quality of stalking investigations. This will victim had either been married or intimate
hopefully increase the likelihood of successful during the stalking episode or after the stalking
prosecution of offenders. Additionally, this began. In some cases of stalking, the victim is
research seeks to address the needs of stalking unaware that he or she is being stalked until
victims at the time of the investigation beyond trying to either end the relationship or stumbling
the basic penal code criteria. The research upon some type of tracking device attached to
should increase awareness to better assist the victim’s vehicle or on a piece of technology
officers with completing a more thorough (e.g., computer or cell phone). It is during this
investigation that will assist the prosecution at time that police may be called by the victim.
trial, while at the same time creating better Unfortunately, police often dismiss the stalking
coalitions with local advocates within the element and focus on the signs of physical
community. and/or sexual abuse. These signs are easier to
observe and document. If there are no physical
POSITION signs of abuse or no outcry by the victim, the
The crime of stalking is a frequently officer will submit, at most, an information
misunderstood and often unnoticed offense for report or call notes stating that a disturbance
police investigating domestic and family took place. The stalking may be downgraded to
violence cases. Stalking is romanticized by harassment or the victim may be given advice
movies and/or television shows portraying either to call 911 should the suspect continue to harass
a deranged spouse or unknown suspect (to the the victim. In fact “studies suggest police and
victim) who is engaging in stalking. The stalker, other Criminal Justice System personnel are not
who may have a long history of stalking using always sensitive or helpful in partner stalking
technology-based surveillance techniques to cases” (Logan, 2010, p. 2). Logan (2010)
track the victim, may assault the victim. In these asserted that, sometimes, “police officers do not
roles, the suspect is perceived as being an take a report, which can be problematic in terms
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