Intimate Partner Stalking: Criminal Justice System Response

On this page find:

• Reporting Partner Stalking to the Police
• Police Identification of Partner Stalking
• Prosecution of Partner Stalking Cases

Reporting Partner Stalking to the Police

Limited information exists about the rates of reasons victims do not report partner stalking to the reporting partner stalking to the police.

• Several studies estimated that between 52 percent and 72 percent of partner stalking victims have talked to the police about stalking or incidents that occurred during the course of stalking.[1-4]
• From a sample of female college women, only 17 percent of stalking incidents were reported to the police.[5]
• Partner stalking victims cite a number of different reasons for not reporting their experiences to the police or for not reporting every incident of stalking.

Reasons victims do not report partner stalking to the police:

• Police couldn't or wouldn't do anything. [6-8]
• Afraid of the stalker. [9]
• Lack of proof. [10-11]
• Concerned nobody would believe them. [12]
• Didn't want police or courts involved. [13]
• Not a police matter/private or personal matter. [14]
• Stalking not severe enough. [15]
• Consequences of calling the police are too negative. [16]
• Not always clear how to report. [17]

Police Identification of Partner Stalking

Police appear to have a limited understanding of partner stalking as shown through surveys, key informant interviews, and actual charges.

• Police officers have limited understanding of stalking statutes, policies, or how to identify and handle stalking cases. [18] In addition, criminal justice system key informants have misinformation and limited knowledge about partner stalking cases. [19]
• Several studies suggest police and other criminal justice system personnel are not always sensitive or helpful in partner stalking cases. For example, they sometimes do not take a report, which can be problematic in terms of victim documentation; and it appears they infrequently advise a victim to document their experiences, discuss safety planning, or refer them to victim services for more help. [20-27] There is some indication that, in some jurisdictions, partner violence is a lower priority than other crimes, which can impact responses to all types of partner violence including stalking. [28-29]
• Police often do not charge stalking even when cases include elements of stalking. For example, in a review of 1,785 domestic violence crime reports, 1 in 6 cases had evidence of stalking but only 1 case had official stalking charges. And, for every 1 case of partner stalking identified by police, an estimated 21 were missed. [30]
• Although it appears few stalking incidents reported to the police result in an arrest/charge (ranges between 29-39 percent), especially compared to the estimated or actual number of stalking cases, [31-36] a few studies suggest those most likely to call the police are those with more severe experiences of stalking threats and violence. [37-38]
• If partner stalkers are charged, it appears they are often charged with crimes other than stalking such as protective order violations and assaults [39-41]
• Even when partner stalking is charged, stalking charges are often amended to other, often lower, crimes such as assault, harassment, menacing, intimidation, terroristic threatening, protective order violation, vandalism, breaking and entering, robbery, trespassing, robbery, disorderly conduct and intimidation. [42-45]

Prosecution of Partner Stalking Cases

Consistent with arrests for partner stalking, charges and convictions for partner stalking are relatively rare.

• Prosecutions and convictions for stalking are low especially when they are compared to the estimated number of stalking cases. [46-53]
  • In one study, 336 female partner stalking cases, only 15 percent were prosecuted (n=49), about 40 percent of those prosecuted were convicted (n=16), and about 56 percent of those cases were sentenced to jail or prison (n=9). [54]
  • Another study found that 36 percent of stalking cases were convicted. However, although partner stalkers were more violent than non-partner stalkers, stranger stalkers were more likely to be convicted of stalking-related offenses than partner stalkers. [55]
  • In a statewide analysis of males charged with stalking, the most frequent outcome for felony and misdemeanor stalking charges was dismissal (55 percent for felony and 62 percent for misdemeanor charges) and the least frequent outcome was a guilty disposition (14 percent for felony and 24 percent for misdemeanor charges). When amendment outcomes were considered, about one-third of all stalking charges resulted in a guilty conviction. [56]
• Having a history of protective orders does not impact the rate of guilty dispositions for misdemeanor stalking charges, but those with two or more protective orders are more likely to be found guilty of felony stalking than those with no protective orders or just one prior protective order. However, protective order history is associated with subsequent felony charges, especially violent charges. [57]
• Police reports of domestic violence incidents that compared police-identified stalking cases to cases that had elements of stalking but were charged with other domestic violence-related charges were examined. The researchers concluded, "Police identification of stalkers was significantly associated with increased likelihood of arrest and court prosecution compared to equivalent stalkers identified by police for non-stalking domestic violence offenders. Further, police identified stalkers without prior criminal histories or criminal abuse histories were significantly less likely to be charged with new domestic violence up to six years after police intervention." [58]
• Researchers compared 5-year disposition trends for three common misdemeanor level partner violence related charges: Assault Fourth Degree Domestic Violence, Violation of a Protective Order, and Stalking Second Degree. An urban area and a rural area were compared. Across both areas stalking charges were about twice as likely to be dismissed and much less likely to have a guilty disposition compared to the other two crimes. [59]
• There has been limited research on treatment for stalking offenders. However, one small study (sample of 29 individuals) found that stalking offenders on probation who completed a Dialectical Behavior Therapy program were less likely to be charged with another stalking offense during the follow-up period than offneders who dropped out of the program. Stalking offenders who completed the program also were less likey to re-offend compared to general published recidivism rates. [60]