Criminal Justice Article Analysis

Boehnlein, T., Kretschmar, J., Regoeczi, W., & Smialek, J. (2020). Responding to stalking victims: Perceptions, barriers, and directions for future research. Journal of family violence , 1-14. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10896-020-00147-3 

Purpose of the Research 

The purpose of this research is to sensitize people about the issue of stalking and offer some recommendations to the problems that stalking victims go through in different parts of the USA. From the early chapters of the research, stalking is explained to be a major problem that has not been fully tackled by the criminal justice system ( Boehnlein, et al., 2020 ). Introduced as actions that may seem more annoying than dangerous, and consistently creating a pattern of repeated behavior that entails harassment, unwanted attention, contact, and other conducts towards other people, stalking can cause significant negative impacts on the lives of the victims. 

Another purpose is to dig deep and get to know the perspective of people towards stalking, the knowledge that many people have about stalking, and the role of law enforcement. In most cases, some of the victims of stalking fear reporting to the law enforcers because of uncertainty whether what is happening to them constitutes stalking ( Korkodeilou, 2017) . Some victims do not believe that stalking is something that can actually produce a positive outcome when reported ( Storey, & Hart, 2019) . These are the victims who doubt whether filing a report with law enforcement is something that can even result in an investigation. These are victims who do not know the conditions to be met for someone to be charged of stalking. In some cases, people also do not report because of fear of retaliation from society and the stalkers. There is also a shortcoming on how to effectively engage victims of stalking. To improve the collective response to stalking, the research is helping clarify how victim advocacy and the justice system is reacting to various cases of stalking. 

Problem 

Currently, there are many cases of stalking and most of them do not reach law enforcement. Many people are victims of stalking but they do not know what to exactly when they find themselves in such scenarios ( Boehnlein, et al., 2020 ). In addition, there are different barriers that make it difficult to investigate and prosecute stalking incidences. This is where there is insufficient knowledge in order to fully understand the mechanisms of stalking and help to stalk victims. This is what the research is seeking to unveil and analyze responses from various stakeholders for directions and themes for future research. 

Questions 

At what point does stalking become a criminal offense? 

How is the law designed to protect the emotional, psychological and physical safety? 

What are the barriers in prosecution and investigation and of stalking? 

Who are the most victims of stalking or what is the prevalence of stalking? 

Design of the Study 

The design of the study refers to the overall strategy that was used in the research by the authors. The design that was used in this research can be described to be Descriptive research design. The descriptive research design is where the researchers are solely interested in the description of a given situation or case under which the research seeks to find more information ( Korkodeilou, 2017) . 

The design of this research is categorized as descriptive because the researchers showed interest in describing the topic of stalking crimes and gathered data around this crime. Past and present data about stalking crimes were gathered from the criminal justice system in Ohio and Cuyahoga County. Moreover, interviews were also conducted with people from various criminal justice systems. The use of interviews is one of the most common methods used by researchers to get first-hand information from the respondents ( Boehnlein, et al., 2020 ). In the study, the researchers conducted an interview with people from different criminal justice and victim service agencies. The agencies chosen were those ones that most likely handle stalking perpetrators and victims. The agencies chosen were the Rocky River Municipal Court, the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, Cleveland Legal Aid, Cleveland Police Department, the Witness/Victim Service Center, Cleveland Municipal Court, the Cleveland Prosecutor’s Office, and many more. 

The research study was qualitative design. Qualitative is a type of research that uses words to understand various concepts, experiences, and thoughts. This method was used by the researchers to gather in-depth insights about stalking and the victims of stalking. The information that was gathered from the justice system and the victim service agencies were obtained by the use of words. The researchers visited various agencies in Cuyahoga County, Ohio to get more information about stalking victims and law enforcers. 

Interview is one of the qualitative methods that were employed. The researchers looked for professionals handling stalking victims and perpetrators for a period of five years and above. Invitation for the interview was extended to 18 personnel across nine agencies. Out of the 18 personnel, the successful interview was done by only 13 people as others were not able to accommodate the request ( Boehnlein, et al., 2020 ). Out of those interviewed, 10 of them were female while only 3 were male of over 35 years. The interviews were structured in a manner that only needed some explanation by the use of words. The interviews were asking questions related with; 

characteristics of stalking cases and victims 

perception of public on stalking victims 

need of stalking victims 

Law enforcement in dealing with stalking victims and perpetrators. 

How investigations on stalking are carried out. 

Charging of stalking cases. 

The following table shows the population and sampling that was used in the research; 

Study Findings 

From the interviews that were carried out, various responses were obtained from different agencies. Most of the individuals working in special domestic violence units and domestic violence service agencies revealed that most of the stalking cases that they find arise from former intimate partners. This is the same case with results found from those working with victims of stalking in areas outside of Cleveland. From the results obtained, the researchers found that stalking cases are common with victims who are rich and former loves that have broken up. This characteristic was further explained that there are some people who are used to getting what they want and these are the people who find it difficult to accept that their relationship has ended, thus, still follow their partners in an illegal manner. 

It was also found that there are other individuals stalked by people they have never had any relation with. Some respondents especially those dealing with civil stalking protection stated that stalking is an action that can happen to anybody ( Korkodeilou, 2017) . It was also found that apart from using delivery of parcels, most of the stalking perpetrators use electronic devices to facilitate stalking. Victims were described in terms of how they feel where most of them usually feel anxious, frustrated with the system, fearful, scattered, and feeling like there is nowhere they can be safe. Some themes were found about stalking victims and these are; they need emotional support, they need to be believed, their feelings validated, and need practical things such as safety planning ( Boehnlein, et al., 2020 ). This is because only 64% of stalking cases reported to the law enforcers are usually followed and investigated. 

Authors Conclusion and Recommendations 

In conclusion, the researchers review various themes that emerged from the interviews with individuals from victim service and criminal justice agencies. From the respondents, the researchers stated that society minimizes stalking and this is why stalking is minimized but for victims, it can cause a severe impact. The phrase stalking is used lightly by the public who lack knowledge of how fearful it will be to have someone trying to have control over you. There are a few cases where victims of stalking suffer without knowing what to exactly do or who to approach. Many people suffer in silence without knowing what to do and more awareness needs to be made about stalking. In order to increase awareness about stalking, it is recommended that campaigns are organized aimed at increasing awareness about stalking. A level of awareness needs to be raised about stalking and the impacts it creates on victims within the society. The use of social media posts and certain hash tags aimed at creating awareness on stalking needs to be used to increase community awareness on stalking. There are some victims who have complained of law enforcers not taking their cases seriously and conducting investigations. Therefore, it is recommended that the law enforcers should be trained about stalking, and how to do investigations regardless of whether the elements exist for a crime. 

References 

Boehnlein, T., Kretschmar, J., Regoeczi, W., & Smialek, J. (2020). Responding to stalking victims: Perceptions, barriers, and directions for future research. Journal of family violence , 1-14. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10896-020-00147-3 

Korkodeilou, J. (2017). ‘No place to hide’ Stalking victimisation and its psycho-social effects. International Review of Victimology , 23 (1), 17-32. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269758016661608 

Storey, J. E., & Hart, S. D. (2019). How do police respond to stalking? An examination of the risk management strategies and tactics used in a specialized anti-stalking law enforcement unit. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology , 26 (2), 128-142. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11896-010-9081-8.pdf 

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