NCJ Number
186537
Date Published
2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The British Crime Survey (BCS) examined the extent of criminal victimization in England and Wales; the 1998 survey was the first to measure the extent of stalking (experiencing persistent and unwanted attention).
Abstract
The report findings suggest that the problem of stalking is not widespread. The report lists several key points from the survey: (1) an estimated 900,000 adults between the age of 16 – 59 were stalking victims; (2) 550,000 victims had been subjected to violence, threatened with violence, or had been fearful that violence would be used; (3) women were more likely to have experienced persistent and unwanted attention than men; (4) about a third of the incidents were perpetrated by someone who was in an intimate relationship with the victim, a third involved an acquaintance of the victim, and a third involved strangers; (5) victims experienced a range of different types of behaviors, the most common was being forced to talk to the offender, as well as silent phone calls, being physically intimidated and followed; (6) seven in ten victims changed their lifestyle as a result of their experience; and (7) overall, a third of the victims said the police had been made aware of the situation, and in 35 percent of the cases the victim was dissatisfied with the police response.