Why might someone think you are a stalker?

Have you:

• Sent them unsolicited email on an ongoing basis?
• Received a "Cease and Desist" letter?
• Had a restraining order filed against you?
• Had an arrest warrant filed against you?
• Have you been arrested in trying to visit with them?
• Have you promised the courts that you will leave that person alone?
• Emailed someone after they requested that you stop emailing them?
• Continued to email them even though they never respond to your emails?
• Tried to force someone into giving you their contact information, addresses, emails, and phone numbers by threatening them or others?
• Made threats against someone who does not respond to you and/or does not do what you want them to do?
• Have you gone to 'visit' someone or tried to go to someone's home or business without their consent or invitation?
• Have you threatened to harm someone or yourself if they do not respond to you?
• Have you threatened them, their families, their associates, and/or their neighbors if they do not 'help' you?
• Have you posted blogs claiming to know or work with someone without their knowledge and consent?
• Have you created email addresses or blogs in the name of someone else?
• Have you published personal information about a person on the internet?
• Have you claimed to produce the work of another as if it were your own?
• Have you tried to find or steal information that is not public and not for sale for your own gain?
• Have you tried to publish or gain access to another person or their work by claiming to represent them or their products publicly?

If you have done these things to someone, then they have every reason to think you are a STALKER.  They would be advised to keep a record of all your communications, and file charges against you at every opportunity.

What is a Sociopath?

Psychopaths and Sociopaths are sometimes referred to as having "Antisocial Personality Disorder".  Such people have little regard for the feeling and welfare of others, although they may claim that they do.

This disorder is chronic, beginning in adolescence and continues into adulthood. The Diagnostic Criteria(DSM-IV) describes a pattern beginning at around age 15 showing a disregard for and violation of the right's of others (since the age of 15), those right's considered normal by the local culture, as indicated by at least three of the following:
    A. Repeated acts that could lead to arrest.
    B. Conning for pleasure or profit, repeated lying, or the use of aliases.
    C. Failure to plan ahead or being impulsive.
    D. Repeated assaults on others.
    E. Reckless when it comes to their or others safety.
    F. Poor work behavior or failure to honor financial obligations.
    G. Rationalizing the pain they inflict on others.

If you suspect someone is a sociopath, look for these major symptoms:

• not learning from experience
• no sense of responsibility
• inability to form meaningful relationships
• inability to control impulses
• lack of moral sense
• chronically antisocial behavior
• no change in behavior after punishment
• emotional immaturity
• lack of guilt
• self-centeredness
  
  
  
  

  Links about Sociopaths:
  A comprehensive profile 
  Frequently asked questions about Sociopaths
  Wikipedia's article

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **I am not a psychologist and have no special expertise in the subject. I am blogging about this, 'stalking', and other related topics as a public service. I urge you to consult either a clinical psychologist or the police depending on the problem you face, and wish you good luck.

 Stalkers do NOT get away with it!


It may sometimes seem to victims that Stalkers get away with their crimes by working the system (or because they are mentally ill).  Even stalkers tend to think they are invincible and can not be caught.

Keep in mind, however, that once the police have been called and records are kept about their many harassing and stalking behaviors, and/or arrest warrants are filed, they DO get caught.

Below are a few examples of alleged stalkers who were shot resisting arrest, arrested and/or jailed, committed for psychiatric evaluation and/or locked up indefinitely for their behavior.

Shot

• Alleged Stalker, Richard Williams, shot by police while resisting arrest in Tampa Bay, FL on June 2011.

Arrested and/or jailed

• Alleged stalker, Jason Koehler of Norfolk VA was arrested on suspicion of stalking, obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest on November 2011. 
• Alleged stalker, Joseph Mathews, of  East Patchogue, NY was charged on March 2011 with stalking, aggravated harassment and resisting arrest. 
• Alleged stalker, Patricia Immendorf of Dunedin, NY was arrested August 2011 on stalking charges, including harassment of radio DJs whose station wound up calling law enforcement officials.
• Alledged stalker Toni Jo Silvey, arrested in October 2011 on felony stalking charges after Houston police broke the door to get to her and to stop what they believe had become a dangerous obsession. Investigators produced evidence of over 712 emails, blog postings, and the destruction of private property.

Psychiatric Evaluation and/or committment

• Alleged stalker, Dorothy Jones Scalise, was arrested for stalking in Coral Springs, Fla. in February 2011. A Bond court Judge ordered a psychological evaluation.
• Alleged stalker, Edward Vines, was locked up indefinitely in 2008 in a secure hospital for an 'untreatable' obsession a woman he has stalked for almost 20 years.  He admitted breaking an earlier restraining order which banned him from contacting the woman after he completed a prison sentence for stalking her.
   

Consequences

Stalkers seem to fall into two categories:

• those who are genuinely "ill", perhaps mentally challenged, or possibly even socio or psychopathic - those who do not know they are doing wrong
• those who 'play' at being ill, with full awareness that what they do is wrong and full awareness that, if they are caught, they will pretend to be unaware of what they are doing or that it was wrong.   Many criminal stalkers who are FAKING illness will repeat the same series of questions or demands, over and over even after being told they are delusional.

Stalkers do not appear to link their behavior to consequences, they seem to believe that they will be or are magically protected against being caught and forced to face consequences that other people might be required to face.

Stalkers seem to completely ignore (or do not care or do not know) some simple truths:

• Individuals who trespass on someone's private property and continue to engage in illegal activities, get arrested because the police ARE called, charges ARE filed, and arrests ARE made.

• Individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others,
  or who seem unable to distinguish between
  what is REAL and what is fantasy, sometimes require
  serious medication and/or  psychiatric treatment.

 Stalkers also seem not to know 

that WHEN stalkers are caught --  

they are institutionalized in jails or 

psychiatric facilities or they commit suicide 

by their own hands or by cops 

while resisting arrest or committing crimes.

 

In the cartoon world, 

such things are funny. 

In the real world, its incredibly sad. 

State Cyberstalking, Cyberharassment and Cyberbullying Laws

Cyberstalking.  Cyberstalking has been defined as the use of the Internet, email or other electronic communications to stalk.  It more generally refers to a pattern of threatening, harrassing and/or malicious behaviors.  It is considered a more dangerous form of internet harassment, because it often poses credible threat of harm and may involve a range of charges from  misdemeanors to felonies.

Cyberharassment. Cyberharassment generally does not involve a credible threat, but pertains to threatening or harassing email messages, instant messages, blog entries or websites that appear to generated to torment, provoke, and/or irritate an individual. Some states include cyberstalking, cyberharrassment, and cyberbullying into general stalking and harassment laws, while others have established laws specifically pertaining to activities taking place on the internet.

Cyberbullying. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment have been used interchangeably, but the term "cyberbullying" is most often used to indicate electronic harassment or bullying among minors within a school context.  The sanctions for cyberbullying range from school/parent interventions to misdemeanors and felonies with detention, suspension, and expulsion in between. Some of these laws promote Internet safety education or curricula that covers cyberbullying.


Some Individual State Laws pertaining to stalking, harrassment and bullying via the internet:

• Colorado - Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-3-602, Stalking-penaltie-definitions;  
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-9-111, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-30-2103. Definitions.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-14-101. Definitions. Harassment., Colo. Rev. Stat.18-6-803.5. Crime of violation of a protection order - penalty - harassment-stalking 

The Colorado state legislature treats stalking as a very serious offense and the stalking laws and penalties reflect that. If you are facing a stalking charge you could face serious prison time and very large fines.  You may be charged with stalking if you are accused of any of the following:

• Make a threat to someone and also repeatedly follow, approach, contact, or watch that person, someone in their family, or someone they have a relationship with,
• Make a threat to someone and repeatedly try to communicate with that person, a member of their family or someone they have a relationship with, whether or not a conversation ensues.
• Repeatedly follow, approach, contact, watch, or attempt communication with someone, a member of their family, or someone they have a relationship with in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to suffer serious emotional distress and does cause someone to duffer serious emotional distress.

First offense: Class 5 felony charge, potential  sentence of 1 to 3 years in prison and fines from $1,000 to $100,000.  Second or subsequent offense,  or it is committed in violation of a protection order:  Class 4 felony, potential sentence of 2 to 6 years in prison and fines of $2,000 to $500,000. Ref: CRS 18-9-111

• Georgia -Georgia Code § 16-5-90 , Georgia Code § 20-2-751.4
  
  Following, surveillance, or contact with another to harass and intimidate. Aggravated stalking: stalking in violation of court order, bond, injunction or probation.
  

  First offense: Misdemeanor. Aggravated stalking: felony; imprisonment minimum 1 year and maximum 10 years and fine maximum $10,000. Second Offense:For 2nd and subsequent convictions: felony; imprisonment minimum 1 year and maximum 10 years.  Restraining order issued upon filing of petition setting forth probable cause.

• Texas -Tx. Penal Code § 33.07
  
  If on more than one occasion and pursuant to scheme or course of conduct directed at specific person, knowingly engages in conduct that: (1) stalker knows/reasonably believes victim will view as threatening, (2) causes fear, and (3) would cause a reasonable person to fear.
  

  First offense: 3rd degree Felony, potential sentence 2-10 years in prison and fine maximum of $10,000; Second offense: 2nd degree Felony,  potential sentence 2-20 years in prison and fine maximum of $10,000.

Georgia Stalking Laws

O.C.G.A. § 16-5-90 Stalking; psychological evaluation. (2000)

(a)   (1) A person commits the offense of stalking when he or she follows, places

under surveillance, or contacts another person at or about a place or places without the consent of the other person for the purpose of harassing and intimidating the other person. For the purpose of this article, the terms "computer" and "computer network" shall have the same meanings as set out in Code Section 16-9-92; the term "contact" shall mean any communication including without being limited to communication in person, by telephone, by mail, by broadcast, by computer, by computer network, or by any other electronic device; and the place or places that contact by telephone, mail, broadcast, computer, computer network, or any other electronic device is deemed to occur shall be the place or places where such communication is received. For the purpose of this article, the term "place or places" shall include any public or private property occupied by the victim other than the residence of the defendant. For the purposes of this article, the term "harassing and intimidating" means a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which causes emotional distress by placing such person in reasonable fear for such person's safety or the safety of a member of his or her immediate family, by establishing a pattern of harassing and intimidating behavior, and which serves no legitimate purpose. This Code section shall not be construed to require that an overt threat of death or bodily injury has been made.   

(2) A person commits the offense of stalking when such person, in violation

of a bond to keep the peace posted pursuant to Code Section 17-6-110, standing order issued under Code Section 19-1-1, temporary restraining order, temporary protective order, permanent restraining order, permanent protective order, preliminary injunction, or permanent injunction or condition of pretrial release, condition of probation, or condition of parole in effect prohibiting the harassment or intimidation of another person, broadcasts or publishes, including electronic publication, the picture, name, address, or phone number of a person for whose benefit the bond, order, or condition was made and without such person's consent in such a manner that causes other persons to harass or intimidate such person and the person making the broadcast or publication knew or had reason to believe that such broadcast or publication would cause such person to be harassed or intimidated by others.

(b)   Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, a person who commits the offense of stalking is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c)   Upon the second conviction, and all subsequent convictions, for stalking, the defendant shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years.

(d)   Before sentencing a defendant for any conviction of stalking under this Code section or aggravated stalking under Code Section 16-5-91, the sentencing judge may require psychological evaluation of the offender and shall consider the entire criminal record of the offender. At the time of sentencing, the judge is authorized to issue a permanent restraining order against the offender to protect the person stalked and the members of such person's immediate family, and the judge is authorized to require psychological treatment of the offender as a part of the sentence, or as a condition for suspension or stay of sentence, or for probation.

O.C.G.A. § 16-5-91. Aggravated stalking. (2002)

(a)   A person commits the offense of aggravated stalking when such person, in violation of a bond to keep the peace posted pursuant to Code Section 17-6-110, temporary restraining order, temporary protective order, permanent restraining order, permanent protective order, preliminary injunction, good behavior bond, or permanent injunction or condition of pretrial release, condition of probation, or condition of parole in effect prohibiting the behavior described in this subsection, follows, places under surveillance, or contacts another person at or about a place or places without the consent of the other person for the purpose of harassing and intimidating the other person.

(b)   Any person convicted of a violation of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years and by a fine of not more than $10,000.00. The provisions of subsection (d) of Code Section 16-5-90 apply to sentencing for conviction of aggravated stalking.

O.C.G.A. § 16-5-92. Applicability. (1993)

The provisions of Code Sections 16-5-90 and 16-5-91 shall not apply to persons engaged in activities protected by the Constitution of the United States or of this state or to persons or employees of such persons lawfully engaged in bona fide business activity or lawfully engaged in the practice of a profession.

O.C.G.A. § 16-5-93. Right of victim to notification of release or escape of stalker. (1993)

(a)   The victim of stalking or aggravated stalking shall be entitled to notice of the release from custody of the person arrested for and charged with the offense of stalking or aggravated stalking and to notice of any hearing on the issue of bail for such person. No such notice shall be required unless the victim provides a landline telephone number other than a pocket pager or electronic communication device number to which such notice can be directed.

(b)   The law enforcement agency, prosecutor, or court directly involved with the victim at the outset of a criminal prosecution for the offense of stalking or aggravated stalking shall advise the victim of his or her right to notice and of the requirement of the victim's providing a landline telephone number other than a pocket pager or electronic communication device number to which the notice of custodial release or bail hearing can be directed. Such victim shall transmit the telephone number described in this subsection to the court and custodian of the person charged with stalking or aggravated stalking.

(c)   Upon receipt of the telephone number, the custodian of the person charged with stalking or aggravated stalking shall take reasonable and necessary steps under the circumstances to notify the victim of the person's release from custody. Such notice shall, at a minimum, include:

(1)     Prior to the person's release, placing a telephone call to the number provided by the victim and giving notice to the victim or any person answering the telephone who appears to be sui juris or by leaving an appropriate message on a telephone answering machine; and

(2)     Following the person's release, if the custodian is unable to notify the victim by the method provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, telephoning the number provided by the victim no less than two times in no less than 15 minute intervals within one hour of custodial release and giving notice to the victim or to any person answering the telephone who appears to be sui juris or by leaving an appropriate message on a telephone answering machine.

(d)   Upon receipt of the telephone number, the court conducting a hearing on the issue of bail shall take reasonable and necessary steps under the circumstances to notify the victim of any scheduled hearing on the issue of bail. Such notice shall, at a minimum, include placing a telephone call to the number provided by the victim prior to any scheduled hearing on the issue of bail.

(e)   Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code section, a scheduled bail hearing or the release of the person charged with stalking or aggravated stalking shall not be delayed solely for the purpose of effectuating notice pursuant to this Code section for a period of more than 30 minutes.

(f)    Upon the person's release or escape from custody after conviction and service of all or a portion of a sentence, notification to the victim shall be provided by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles as set forth in Code Sections 42-9-46 and 42-9-47.

(g)   This Code section shall not apply to a custodian who is transferring a person charged with stalking or aggravated stalking to another custodian in this state.

(h)   As used in this Code section, the term "custodian" means a warden, sheriff, jailer, deputy sheriff, police officer, officer or employee of the Department of Juvenile Justice, or any other law enforcement officer having actual custody of an inmate.

(i)     A custodian or his or her employing agency shall not be liable in damages for a failure to provide the notice required by this Code section, but the custodian shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action including termination for such failure.

O.C.G.A. § 16-5-94. Restraining orders; protective orders. (1999)

(a)   A person who is not a minor who alleges stalking by another person may seek a restraining order by filing a petition alleging conduct constituting stalking as defined in Code Section 16-5-90. A person who is not a minor may also seek relief on behalf of a minor by filing such a petition.

(b)   Jurisdiction for such a petition shall be the same as for family violence petitions as set out in Code Section 19-13-2.

(c)   Upon the filing of a verified petition in which the petitioner alleges with specific facts that probable cause exists to establish that stalking by the respondent has occurred in the past and may occur in the future, the court may order such temporary relief ex parte as it deems necessary to protect the petitioner or a minor of the household from stalking. If the court issues an ex parte order, a copy of the order shall be immediately furnished to the petitioner.

(d)   The court may grant a protective order or approve a consent agreement to bring about a cessation of conduct constituting stalking. Orders or agreements may:

(1)  Direct a party to refrain from such conduct;

(2)  Order a party to refrain from harassing or interfering with the other;

(3)  Award costs and attorney's fees to either party; and

(4)  Order either or all parties to receive appropriate psychiatric or psychological services as a further measure to prevent the recurrence of stalking.

(e)   The provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of Code Section 19-13-3, subsections (b), (c), and (d) of Code Section 19-13-4, and Code Section 19-13-5, relating to family violence petitions, shall apply to petitions filed pursuant to this Code section, except that the clerk of court may provide forms for petitions and pleadings to persons alleging conduct constituting stalking and to any other person designated by the superior court pursuant to this Code section as authorized to advise persons alleging conduct constituting stalking on filling out and filing such petitions and pleadings.

Texas Stalking Laws

TEX. Penal Code § 42.072. Stalking. (2001)

 (a) A person commits an offense if the person, on more than one occasion and pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct that is directed specifically at another person, knowingly engages in conduct that:
 
(1) the actor knows or reasonably believes the other person will regard as threatening:
        (A) bodily injury or death for the other person;    
              (B) bodily injury or death for a member of the other person's family or household or for an individual with whom the other person has a dating relationship; or
       (C) that an offense will be committed against the other person's property;

(2) causes the other person, a member of the other person's family or household, Or an individual with whom the other person has a dating relationship to be placed in fear of bodily injury or death or fear that an offense will be committed against the other person's property; and(3) would cause a reasonable person to fear:
      (A) bodily injury or death for himself or herself;
      (B) bodily injury or death for a member of the person's family or household or for an individual with whom the person has a dating relationship; or
      (C) that an offense will be committed against the person's property.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if the actor has previously been convicted of an offense under this section or of an offense under any of the following laws that contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense under this section:

(1) the laws of another state;  
       (2) the laws of a federally recognized indian tribe; 
       (3) the laws of a territory of the united states; or 
       (4) federal law.

(c) for purposes of this section, a trier of fact may find that different types of conduct described by subsection (A), if engaged in on more than one occasion, constitute conduct that is engaged in pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct.

 
(d) In this section, "dating relationship," "family," "household," and "member of a household" have the meanings assigned by Chapter 71, Family Code. 

SECTION 2. Chapter 13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 13.36 to read as follows:ART. 13.36. Stalking. The offense of stalking may be prosecuted in any county in which an element of the offense occurred.  

SECTION 3. Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended by adding Article 38.46 to read as follows:ART. 38.46. Evidence in prosecutions for stalking.

(A) in a prosecution for stalking, each party may offer testimony as to all relevant facts and circumstances that would aid the trier of fact in determining whether the actor's conduct would cause a reasonable person to experience a fear described by section 42.072(A)(3)(A), (B), or (C), penal code, including the facts and circumstances surrounding any existing or previous relationship between the actor and the alleged victim, a member of the alleged victim's family or household, or an individual with whom the alleged victim has a dating relationship. 
 
(B) This article does not permit the presentation of character evidence that would otherwise be inadmissible under the Texas rules of evidence or other applicable law.
 
 
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

Colorado Stalking Laws

C.R.S. 18-3-601. [Formerly 18-9-111 (4) (a)] Legislative declaration. (2010)

(1)  The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

(a)  Stalking is a serious problem in this state and nationwide;

(b)  Although stalking often involves persons who have had an intimate relationship with one another, it can also involve persons who have little or no past relationship;

(c)  A stalker will often maintain strong, unshakable, and irrational emotional feelings for his or her victim, and may likewise believe that the victim either returns these feelings of affection or will do so if the stalker is persistent enough. Further, the stalker often maintains this belief, despite a trivial or nonexistent basis for it and despite rejection, lack of reciprocation, efforts to restrict or avoid the stalker, and other facts that conflict with this belief.

(d)  A stalker may also develop jealousy and animosity for persons who are in relationships with the victim, including family members, employers and co-workers, and friends, perceiving them as obstacles or as threats to the stalker's own "relationship" with the victim;

(e)  Because stalking involves highly inappropriate intensity, persistence, and possessiveness, it entails great unpredictability and creates great stress and fear for the victim;

(f)  Stalking involves severe intrusions on the victim's personal privacy and autonomy, with an immediate and long-lasting impact on quality of life as well as risks to security and safety of the victim and persons close to the victim, even in the absence of express threats of physical harm.

(2)  The general assembly hereby recognizes the seriousness posed by stalking and adopts the provisions of this part 6 with the goal of encouraging and authorizing effective intervention before stalking can escalate into behavior that has even more serious consequences.

C.R.S. 18-3-602.[Formerly 18-9-111 (4) (b), (4) (c), (5), and (6)] Stalking – penalty – definitions. (2010)

(1)  A person commits stalking if directly, or indirectly through another person, the person knowingly:

(a)  Makes a credible threat to another person and, in connection with the threat, repeatedly follows, approaches, contacts, or places under surveillance that person, a member of that person's immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship; or

(b)  Makes a credible threat to another person and, in connection with the threat, repeatedly makes any form of communication with that person, a member of that person's immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship, regardless of whether a conversation ensues; or

(c)  Repeatedly follows, approaches, contacts, places under surveillance, or makes any form of communication with another person, a member of that person's immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to suffer serious emotional distress and does cause that person, a member of that person's immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship to suffer serious emotional distress. For purposes of this paragraph (c), a victim need not show that he or she received professional treatment or counseling to show that he or she suffered serious emotional distress.

(2)  For the purposes of this part 6:

(a)  Conduct "in connection with" a credible threat means acts that further, advance, promote, or have a continuity of purpose, and may occur before, during, or after the credible threat.

(b)  "Credible threat" means a threat, physical action, or repeated conduct that would cause a reasonable person to be in fear for the person's safety or the safety of continuing relationship. The threat need not be directly expressed if the totality of the conduct would cause a reasonable person such fear.

(c)  "Immediate family" includes the person's spouse and the person's parent, grandparent, sibling, or child.

(d)   "Repeated" or "repeatedly" means on more than one occasion.

(3)  A person who commits stalking:

(a)  Commits a class 5 felony for a first offense except as otherwise provided in subsection (5) of this section; or

(b)  Commits a class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, if the offense occurs within seven years after the date of a prior offense for which such the person was convicted.

(4)  Stalking is an extraordinary risk crime that is subject to the modified presumptive sentencing range specified in section 18-1.3-401 (10).

(5)  If, at the time of the offense, there was a temporary or permanent protection order, injunction, or condition of bond, probation, or parole or any other court order in effect against the person, prohibiting the behavior described in this section, the person commits a class 4 felony. In addition, when a violation under this section is committed in connection with a violation of a court order, including but not limited to any protection order or any order that sets forth the conditions of a bond, any sentence imposed for the violation pursuant to this subsection (5) shall run consecutively and not concurrently with any sentence imposed pursuant to section 18-6-803.5 and with any sentence imposed in a contempt proceeding for violation of the court order.

(6)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter or diminish the inherent authority of the court to enforce its orders through civil or criminal contempt proceedings; however, before a criminal contempt proceeding is heard before the court, notice of the proceedings shall be provided to the district attorney for the judicial district of the court where the proceedings are to be heard and the district attorney for the judicial district in which the alleged act of criminal contempt occurred. The district attorney for either district shall be allowed to appear and argue for the imposition of contempt sanctions.

(7)  A peace officer shall have a duty to respond as soon as reasonably possible to a report of stalking and to cooperate with the alleged victim in investigating the report.