Analysis Of Traditional Stalking

Also, not only cyber stalking but the use of technology to aid in someone’s stalking efforts. Today, the use of technology for stalking is something that is the norm today for people that are stalkers so to go as far and refer to this issue as “cyber-stalking” there is a fine line here that is hard to determine if the stalking is purely cyber. Social media is such a norm for all people today that if you have a stalker they are not only following you and harassing you outside of the internet but also on all your social media accounts in some way. The future of stalking begins and develops from here, there needs to be a better way to control how people access people’s profiles and notify activity that is unwanted in some way, perhaps stalking apps that work with your phone to determine activity from unwanted individuals. Nonetheless the internet is a tool that stalkers will from here on out use to track and harass people so new legislations regarding this issue needs to be developed to continue to stay a step ahead of

Each of these theories had led to many new theories used today, such as the Rational Choice theory, Biosocial and Psychological Theory, Critical Theory, Cultural Deviance Theory, Life Course Theory, and many more. The one thing in common with every theory is that they all explain at least one behavioral factor that leads to crime. Today, all these theories, and more, are researched and taken into account when trying to understand why a criminal does what they do.

In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the Rational Choice Theory(s) and the Trait Theory(s). We will start with the history of the two theories and progress toward some of the individual principles in the theories. Next step will be explaining how each theory contributes to criminal behavior. My closing paragraph will conclude the essay as well as give detailed information on how society punishes the crimes committed.

Rational Choice Theory says that a person chooses to commit the crime based on if the reward outweighs the risk, regardless of the crime. Within this theory, there are four sub theories, General Deterrence, Specific Deterrence, Rational Choice, and Incarceration. Each of these theories includes the general characteristics of Rational Choice Theory and apply to either offender specific or offense specific crimes as evaluating the risk of crime. Offender specific crimes are

Shaniqua Renaenae III and her family move to Fawn Lake. Shaniqua’s family gets introduced to the Roosevelt family,they get along very well. Later that night, Shaniqua is unpacking boxes in her room and feels she is getting stared at from far away but when she looks but no one is anywhere to be seen. The next day, Shaniqua goes to school in every class she has Daquan Roosevelt II. The whole class he just stares at her and she tells him to stop many times but Daquan still stares at Shaniqua. When, Shaniqua and her friend Sharkeisha take a walk through a neighborhood,she turns around and sees a dark figure following them.

These behaviors include, but are not limited to: “[unwanted] repeated visual or physical proximity, nonconsensual communication, or verbal, written, or implied threats… that would cause a reasonable person fear”. A victim may also experience and/or receive unnecessary and uninvited gifts, a sense s/he is being followed, damage or threats of damage to his/her personal property and belongings, intrusion into the home of the victim, harassments and threat sent to the victim online, etc (NIJ, 2007). Between the years 2010 and 2011, the CDC released the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) in the United States in an attempt to examine the rates of intimate partner/sexual violence and stalking in the U.S. This survey found that 7.5 million people reported instances of stalking in that year. Of these reports, approximately sixty-one percent female victims and approximately forty-four percent male victims reported stalking by a current or former intimate partner. It has been estimated that one in six females (fifteen percent) and one in nineteen males (six percent) have been stalked in their lifetime (Victims of Crime, 2012). From the same survey, it was found that of the reported female victims approximately twenty-four percent were stalked by an acquaintance and approximately thirteen percent were stalked by a complete stranger (NIJ, 2007). This data suggests the large percentile difference between the relationship-types of the victim and perpetrator. Other sources reveal the average number of attempts stalking by the

victimization is most likely when individuals are placed in high risk situations, are in close proximity to motivated offenders, appear to be attractive targets to criminals, and lack a capable guardian (Cohen and Felson 1979; Lauritsen et al. 1992; Miethe and Meier 1994). Some researchers insist that cyberstalking is different from off line stalking because the offender can target and harass or exploit their victims in unique and many different ways without have to come in any form of psychical contact with their victim or target according to Bocij. Both offenses, however, produce

Rational choice theory asserts that one’s personal choice is the reason why he/she engages in deviant behavior. Consequently, an offender weighs the costs and benefits of committing a crime and makes a “rational” choice to engage or not engage in criminal behavior. This theory also assumes that crime is, essentially, designed to meet the criminal’s needs (i.e., money, sex, social status, etc.) and the criminal will make decisions or choices based on limitations, ability, and the availability of relevant information (Holmes, Maahs, & Vito, 2005). These individuals seek to avoid pain and maximize pleasure. The essence of the theory is that people are rational beings who have the ability to control their behavior. Offenders can be persuaded to not engage in criminal activity for fear of punishment and, thus, punishment should only be used in a way that would deter people from engaging in crime. Personal choices and situational factors such as the victim’s vulnerability, presence of witnesses, and available guardians or police are what aid the criminal in committing the crime, so criminal choices are strongly dependent on the social environment and those situational variables.

Offenders in this category were distressing their victims more than any of the other stalkers. The Vindictive Cyber stalker was more likely to employ a number of malicious tactics that were intended to incessantly harass victims through excessive spamming, email bombing, and identity theft. The Composed Cyber stalker targeted victims in calm, meticulous manner (McFarlane & Bocij 2005.) The Intimate Cyber stalkers primary objective was to launch a relationship with an intentional target that was based on infatuation and obsession (McFarlane & Bocij 2005). This group was the most diverse in that some were once personally involved with the victim or were simply infatuated with a targeted individual (McFarlane & Bocij 2005). The Collective Cyber stalker, consists of two or more individuals pursuing the same victim at the same time. These group’s computer skills were remarkably high when compared with the additional three cyber stalkers

From the theories that I have read so far, I find the rational choice theory to be the most simple yet comprehensive one that explains criminality. The simplicity of it makes it easy to understand for those who do not possess any knowledge of criminology, but wish to understand why and how crime occurs. The matter of the theory is in its name itself; whether or not a crime occurs is the result of a carefully made decision. But in order to really understand this theory, it is necessary to read beyond the name and learn how a decision to whether or not commit a crime was made. This simple method of making a choice involves weighing the costs and benefits of an act; if the benefits outweigh the costs, the crime will occur. This overlooked concept

Stalking occurs when someone watches or closely follows another individual for a long particular time. Domestic violence is a violent abuse or aggressive behavior between people in a specific area. Domestic violence is very prevalent on college campuses across the United States and other countries. They are a few types of stalking that often occur. The first form is rejected stalking, this arises in the context of a between two individuals who were in a close relationship. The second form of stalking occurs when the stalker feels they have been mistreated or been humilated. The last form that occurs often is predatory stalking, this arises in the context of deviant sexual practices and interests. The preadatory stalkers are the most dangerous,

What is it like to think as an offender and what is it like to be a victim of crime? Rational choice and routine activities theories differ from each other because one looks at the offender side and the other looks at the victim. Rational choice theory believes that law-violating behavior is the result of cautious thought and planning of an individual by weighting the cost and the benefits before committing a crime. (Siegel 2011, p. 85). However, according to Siegel 2011, routine activities theory believes that victims put themselves in danger by engaging in high-risk activities, such as going out late at night, living in a high-crime area, and associating with high-risk peers. (p.74). Is this theory inferring that in order to avoid crime and victimization citizens must stay home? Despite of being opposite to each other, they tend to happen concurrently. According to Larry J. Siegel (2011) “Rational choice is the view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act.”(p.84) This theory has its roots in the classical criminology developed by the Italian social thinker Cesare Beccaria, whose utili- tarian methodology strongly influenced the criminal justice system and was therefore widely accepted throughout Europe and the United States. (Siegel, 2011, p.84). Rational choice theory includes three things that play a major role in the process of trying to explain crime, which will be

This article conducts research into the psychological effects stalking has on victims in the long-term, while the only drawback of the article is that it exclusively focuses on female victims it is not too far of stretch to assume that the same results could be applied to male victims as well. The following study was conducted by Timothy M. Diette and associates to see what or if any mental health issues persisted into later life as a consequence of being stalked, the researchers looked into several factors during the study such as the victim’s age, their mental health prior to the stalking, and if they had any other exposure to traumatic incidents. The study selected women from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, the National Survey of American Life, and the National Latino and Asian American Study which are well suited for measuring ones emotional and mental health since the three surveys can be evaluated the same way and that they measure one’s well-being on life-long timeline instead of just focusing on the years where the stalking occurred. Diette and associates used logistical analysis on the data collected from the surveys, by estimating the psychological distress in comparison to the life stage the individual was in; which included : “Adolescence (ages 12–17), Early Emerging Adulthood (ages 18–22), Late Emerging Adulthood (ages 23–29), and Early Middle Age (ages 30–45)” (Diette et all., 2014).

Routine activities theory is a popular choice theory in criminology (Walsh____), which focuses on the mundane choices made in everyday life that causes crime. To thoroughly investigate routine activities theory, the origins, the validity and the application of the theory will be explored

One sub-theory of rational choice is routine activity theory, which posits that crime is not an aberration of human society, but merely a common facet of culture that only requires opportunity. First developed and published by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen in 1979,