Dealing With Stalking: Police Intervention Or Court Decision?

Various European countries now have gained experience with stalking laws. Apart from a full trial, these laws sometimes also enable immediate interventions at the first signs of stalking. This article discusses such immediate interventions, and compares them with the situation in which the case has proceeded to the court. The Belgian and the Dutch stalking legislations, and how they are used in legal practice, serve as examples. Recent research has explored risk factors for violence accompanying stalking. This article discusses possibilities of using these risk factors for violence accompanying stalking cases, and for guiding decision making on the most promising intervention strategies for different types of suspects. The article ends with an assessment of the merits and disadvantages of the various intervention strategies.