NCJ Number
139982
Date Published
1992
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This document presents two newspaper articles discussing State laws that define stalking another person as an offense; summarizes the status of State stalking legislation; and provides the text of stalking statutes in California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and West Virginia.
Abstract
The laws typically define stalking as willful, malicious, and repeated following and harassing another person. Most laws require that a credible threat of violence be made against the victim, and many States extend credible threat to include threats against the victim's immediate family. Experts on civil liberties have criticized the laws for inappropriate definitions. One police supervisor says that stalking cases usually involve domestic violence, workplace harassment, or stalking of a famous person. Twenty States now have stalking laws, and stalking legislation is pending in at least 12 other states.