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Who's Watching Who?
Have you ever been walking along and felt like someone was following you? Maybe you have had an eerie feeling that you were being watched but really didn't see anyone. Just a strange feeling that there was someone besides yourself in the area. Luckily, these feelings are most often just a bit of your imagination going wild, but for some people the feeling are completely justified.
We have just completed National Stalking Awareness Week, whereby this very bizarre and dangerous act has been brought to the attention of our nation. Stalking is more than just a scary scene in a movie when you just know that something bad is about to happen. It is a real life horror movie for those who have fallen victim to stalking predators. For some of these victims, these incidents have resulted in their lives being taken by criminal acts. According to numbers by the National Center for Victims of Crime, one in twelve women and one in forty five men will be stalked in their life time. 1.4 million people are stalked annually in the Unite State s alone. Seventy six percent of women who were killed by their intimate partners were stalked by their partners before they were killed. Although stalking can involve many different scenarios; it is most often described as a course of conduct directed at a specific person that places a reasonable person in fear of their safety. This act has become serious enough that it is now against the law in every state in the nation.
Reasons for people being targeted by stalkers can vary. Spurned lovers, long standing disagreements and the most bizarre cases involve abnormal obsessions with someone that the stalker may or may not even know on a personal level. These types of cases most often involve a celebrity, but stranger to stranger stalking can occur with people who have no celebrity status at all. Erotomanic stalkers actually believe that they are loved by their targets even though the target has no idea who the stalker is. While this type of stalker is the least common, they are considered the most dangerous. Stalkers can be male or female, as well as those who are victims of this crime. While little data exists as to any real physiological profiles concerning stalkers, most cases come down to a "if I can't have you, no one will" line of thought.
Based on the rising numbers, law enforcement agencies and the judicial system now take these offenses very seriously; Enhanced protective orders, restraining orders and length confinement times are being instituted to protect those who become targets of stalkers. The key to not becoming a victim of this type of crime seems to be immediate action once the act is first noticed. Prolonging the involvement of law enforcement agencies in hopes that the stalker would just go away often only makes matters worse. In cases, where the victim feels that they are being stalked, but are not sure of the identity of the offender, prompt action is still imperative. Law enforcement may be able to identify the offender through surveillance and investigative techniques that are not available to the victim.
For further information on stalking, the National Center for Victims of Crime has a wealth of information located on their website at
www.ncvc.org. Stalking might make for some great cinematic moments, but is a true horror story for those who find themselves as real victims.
For further information, visit www.voice4victims.com
If you are interested in having Mr. Hall speak at your next club or group meeting, please email contact information to:
SHallBadgeNotes@aol.com
012905
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