Roughly 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 6 men in the United States have suffered some form of stalking in the course of their lifetime.1

Stalking is challenging to police effectively as it is a pattern-based, rather than an incident based, crime. Responding to stalking cases often necessitates specialized knowledge and a significant investigative effort.2 Research supported by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) suggests that the law enforcement response would be improved with the implementation of assessment tools for identifying stalking behaviors within the context of other intimate partner violence (IPV)-based crimes, as well as by providing specific training for officers.3

A detailed summary of research, statistics, best practices, and OVW grantees’ efforts related to stalking can be found in OVW’s reports to Congress pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12049, which requires a report every even-numbered fiscal year to include information about the incidence of stalking and domestic violence and evaluating the effectiveness of anti-stalking efforts and legislation. OVW’s reports to Congress are available here: https://www.justice.gov/ovw/reports-congress.