Why is in-person training on stalking important for law enforcement?

• NCJ Number: 301520
• Date Published: July 2021
• Grant Number(s): 2016-MU-CX-K011
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

This instructional video – one in a series of training videos on stalking sponsored by the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC) - is a comment by a law enforcement leader on why in-person training on stalking is important for law enforcement officers.  

Abstract

The instructor is Sergeant Denise Jones of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office (Ohio). Her comments on the video are in response to a question about the kind of training the officers in her agency receive generally and specifically regarding the enforcement of the state’s stalking law. She is critical of the state’s current use of standardized computer training as being unresponsive to changing and specific challenges being faced by officers in the field. She favors in-person, continuous training in which officers can share their contemporary experiences in the field and experience interactive discussions that address their gaps in knowledge and experience in managing various situations they have encountered. In the case of stalking, her agency personnel have not received the kind of in-person training that will enable officers to learn more about the behaviors, circumstances, and victimization effects of stalking, as well as how such cases should be managed in the field and in follow-up decisions and actions.