Major Federal Report on Stalking to Be Released

National Experts Available to Discuss Report Findings

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On January 13, the Bureau of Justice Statistics will release Stalking Victimization in the United States, a supplement to the 2006 National Crime Victimization Survey. Experts from the National Center for Victims of Crime will be available on January 13 to discuss the implications of the new study, which will report on the prevalence of stalking, stalker characteristics, victim-offender relationships, the use of technology to stalk, and other aspects of stalking.

Until the publication of Stalking Victimization in the United States, initiated through the advocacy of the Stalking Resource Center of the National Center for Victims of Crime, the National Crime Victimization Survey had not studied stalking as a separate crime category. The new report will build on the findings of two previous national studies, Stalking in America (1998) from the National Institute of Justice, and a 2006 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, “Stalking in the United States: Recent National Prevalence Estimates,” which focused on stalking as a public health concern. The new report will present the first national data available on the use of technology to stalk, and provide updated statistics on the current prevalence and impact of the crime.

WHEN: Tuesday, January 13, 2009; 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

WHO/WHAT: Experts on stalking from the National Center for Victims of Crime and the Stalking Resource Center will be available to answer reporters’ questions about the implications of Stalking Victimization in the United States.

• Mary Lou Leary, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime and a former federal prosecutor
• Michelle M. Garcia, director of the Stalking Resource Center, National Center for Victims of Crime

To schedule an interview, contact Liz Joyce at 202-467-8729, ejoyce@ncvc.org.

The National Center for Victims of Crime is the nation’s leading resource and advocacy organization dedicated to helping victims of crime rebuild their lives. The National Center’s Stalking Resource Center seeks to raise national awareness of stalking and to encourage the development and implementation of multidisciplinary responses to stalking in local communities throughout the country.

SOURCE National Center for Victims of Crime