GlossaryCrime classifications
Stalking
Stalking concerns a course of conduct directed at a person. Learn how a reported concern, an applicable legal definition, and a court finding differ.
Stalking is a course of conduct directed at a particular person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their own or another person's safety, or to suffer substantial emotional distress. The pattern matters. A brief activity-log entry may show only one reported event within a longer history.
Understanding the pattern
The Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women uses the course-of-conduct definition above. The concept helps explain why repeated unwanted contact or monitoring may need to be understood together rather than treated as unrelated entries.
An event's visible date may be when someone reported the behavior, not when every part of the pattern began. Similarly, one incident record does not necessarily mean that only one act occurred. A summary should avoid turning record counts into counts of all underlying contacts without checking the source's rules.
Example
Hypothetical example: A resident reports a month of unwanted messages and repeated appearances outside their workplace. The agency creates one report documenting the sequence and dates described by the resident.
The single report can concern a pattern. It should not be described as only one unwanted contact. At the same time, the category heading alone does not show that the legal elements were proved or that a court made a finding about the alleged conduct.
Common confusion
Harassment and intimidation are related descriptions, but their legal or reporting definitions may differ. Stalking emphasizes a course of conduct and its effect under the governing standard. It should not be reduced to a synonym for an unpleasant interaction.
A protective order and a stalking conviction are also different records. One should not be inferred from the presence of the other term in a log.
Source and jurisdiction
This page explains DOJ's general definition. Applicable federal, state, or tribal law determines the specific offense, required acts, and legal standards. For a dataset, also check whether “stalking” is an agency call type, a statutory charge, or a mapped statistical category before comparing totals.