Addressing Stalking In The United States: A Policy Analysis

Millions of individuals are stalked annually, with females disproportionally affected. Stalking is associated with poor mental health, chronic health conditions, injury, disability, and death. The crime is difficult to prevent due to complex and unpredictable behaviors, minimalization and normalization of behaviors, and variance in stalking laws. The Model Stalking Code was drafted, at Congress’ request, as a framework for the states to draft stalking legislation. State statutes and the Model Stalking Code Revisited: Responding to the New Realities of Stalking are outdated leaving gaps for protections for victims. There is a public health need to update the 2007 National Center for Victims of Crime’s Model Stalking Code Revisited: Responding to the New Realities of Stalking. The objective of this policy analysis was to research and analyze current, relevant and reliable data to provide evidence-based recommendations for updating the Model Stalking Code Revisited: Responding to the New Realities of Stalking. To inform this proposal, a comprehensive literature review exploring the public health burden of stalking, a comprehensive review of existing federal and state legislation addressing stalking in the United States, a comparative review of the legislation and the Model Stalking Code Revisited: Responding to the New Realities of Stalking and legislation in other states were conducted. Based upon compilation, synthesis and analyses, two policy options were proposed to amend the Model Stalking Code Revisited: Responding to the New Realities of Stalking. The analyses revealed gaps in the Model Stalking Code Revisited: Responding to the New Realities of Stalking that do not address the current issues of stalking. Recommendations for this policy proposal include adding language identifying and describing a mandatory psychiatric evaluation(s) or type of counseling for individuals convicted of stalking. The second recommendation is to reorganize anti-stalking statutes into separate subparts to facilitate a greater understanding of the laws