NCJ Number
236560
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 38 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 1115-1126
Date Published
2011
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study researched the stalking or instrusive harassment of political figures.
Abstract
The relative absence of political figure targets from stalking research is problematic for law enforcement personnel challenged with distinguishing cases representing a onetime contact from those that continue or escalate. Accordingly, this study compared solitary cases of problematic approach with stalking and intrusive harassment of legislators using 15 offender, contact, and motivation variables. Results revealed a significant model that correctly reclassified 85 percent of the single-approach cases and 50 percent of the stalking cases. Significant risk factors emerged that highlighted the persistent, focused, and multifaceted pursuit of political figure stalkers and intrusive harassers. More generally, results underscore the superior utility of contact and motivational variables for discriminating groups and the need for appropriate comparison groups when describing stalkers across contexts. (Published Abstract)