By: Sgt. Baron Brown, Ferndale Police
RECENTLY, THE FERNDALE POLICE Department investigated a case of a committed stalker. This incident didn’t result in any physical contact or injury to the male victim, but did result in the victim suffering considerable emotional injury and a feeling of helplessness and loss of control. This got me to thinking about how much our readers really know about stalking. January is National Stalking Awareness Month and a good opportunity to spread some useful knowledge and resource information about stalking. Stalking is such a widespread illegal behavior in this country that all 50 states have stalking laws. According to a recent study by the Center for Disease Control, approximately 7.5 million people were stalked in just one year. Victims are most often stalked by someone they know. Frequently, stalkers are ex-partners or acquaintances of the victim with only 1 in 8 females and 1 in 5 males being victims of stranger stalking. Stalking is seriously under-reported. For many reasons, including the victim’s belief that the behavior isn’t criminal, the police won’t take the report seriously or a victim minimizing the seriousness of the behavior, only about approximately 37% of males and 41% of females will actually make a report with the police.
As with the victimization risk for most crimes, the youngest members of our society are most at risk. Stalking victims are typically in the 18 to 24 year old age range. The overrepresentation of this age group may play an increased role in the underreporting of this crime. This age group is also highly involved in social media, which is an ideal vehicle for a stalker to commit their illegal acts. In addition to using social media, stalkers also follow their victims, inundate them with phone calls and text messages, show up at locations that the victim is likely to be, and send messages through third parties. Unfortunately, the increased availability of easy to use technology such as home surveillance systems and global positioning devices make it harder for a victim to escape stalking behavior.
Studies show that ignoring a stalker isn’t necessarily effective in stopping the behavior. In fact, ignoring a stalker in some cases can increase the frequency and seriousness of the stalking behavior. One might think that stalkers are mentally ill but that notion isn’t supported by fact. Researchers have found that while some stalkers are mentally ill, there is no evidence that most stalkers are mentally ill.
In Michigan stalking occurs when there are 2 or more unwanted contacts that could cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress and does cause a victim to actually suffer emotional distress. A person guilty of stalking is responsible for a misdemeanor and can be imprisoned for not more than 1 year and fined up to $1000. If a victim is less than 18 years old and the stalker is more than 5 years older than the victim it’s a felony punishable by a prison term of not more than 5 years and up to a $10,000 fine. A person is guilty of aggravated stalking if they violate a court order prohibiting stalking behavior, make a credible threat, or have been convicted of misdemeanor stalking in the past.
Aggravated stalking is a felony punishable by a prison term of not more than 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Again, if the victim is less than 18 and is stalked by someone more than 5 years older the penalty can increase to a term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years and a fine of up to $15,000. If you feel you are a victim of stalking please report it to the police.
Intervention is key and the criminal behavior is best addressed by initiating a criminal investigation into the incident. Reporting the behavior to police allows the prosecutor to charge aggravated stalking with harsher penalties in the future. It also allows the prosecutor to show a pattern of behavior by the stalker in court proceedings. When you report a case of stalking to the Ferndale Police Department, the case will be investigated and resources will be made available to you, including information on how to acquire a Personal Protection Order.
For more information, visit Haven’s website or call their 24-hour crisis and support line 248-334-1274. (information taken from stalkingawarenessmonth.org)
If slightly happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states coupled to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What people talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction turn on injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual malfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this therapy passes into breast milk.
I spoke to owner Kandice El about her creation. “It was a dream come true. I signed the lease on this place January 15 of last year, and here I am, a year later.” Our Little Big World has been open for business for the past two months. “One of my initial goals for this place was to show diversity.” Kandice explains. “That’s why we have the club houses with the continents. We want the kids to learn about culture, language and to see the purest (essence) of a person instead of race.” The long-range goal of ‘Our Little Big World’ is creating a learning institute where kids can come after school, do their homework, learn different languages, and play in unity with one another.
As I was looking around, two women came through the door with their little ones. I sat in the corner and observed while Kandice’s five-year old daughter greeted them, and then they all went off to play. It was interesting and heartwarming to witness a young girl be so receptive to new company so fast. I had the opportunity to speak to the moms that brought their children (first-timers, as it turns out) about their reasons for choosing Our Little Big World.
Kandice is trying to build an organization in hopes of branching out to Atlanta and Midtown Detroit, and she’s is constant pursuit of investors for her projects. She hopes that her clear vison of how she wants this program to function is attractive to investors, and she’s not afraid to step out on a limb and take a leap of faith to get the job done.
“We’re your neighborhood store.” Sal says emphatically, sitting up in his office overlooking the pleasant, brightly-lit sales floor. He doesn’t spend much time up here, though, as he’s always running around, busy with the hundreds of tasks necessary for running a modern grocery business. “We’re planning on carrying some specialty items, but we’ll always have all of the regular stuff, too.”
Still, value will always be the bottom line. “All of our sales items in our flyer are real sales,” Sal says. “We lose money, but the customers appreciate us.” The savings club card gives one per cent cash back on purchases, too.
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