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31 Crim. Just. & Behavior 3 (2004)

handle is hein.journals/crmjusbhv31 and id is 1 raw text is: INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE ON STALKING Finding and Filling the Empirical Gaps MAUREEN O'CONNOR John Jay College of Criminal Justice BARRY ROSENFELD Fordham University B ecause the term stalking has been applied to such a diverse range of behaviors, individuals, and situations, it has proven quite diffi- cult to define and understand. As legislative efforts to criminalize stalking have proliferated throughout the United States and other developed countries, these definitional and conceptual problems have resulted in gaps and ambiguities in both the language and enforcement of these laws. Attempts to develop effective legal and clinical inter- ventions, as well as provide services for stalking victims, have been hindered by the confusion regarding who engages in stalking and why this behavior occurs. Empirical research on stalking has also suffered from the lack of a more thorough understanding of this phenomenon as researchers rely on varying definitions, ad hoc measurement instru- ments, and different conceptualizations, thus hindering systematic growth in our knowledge of the topic. This special issue was designed to showcase emerging lines of inquiry that hold promise for providing a solid base of empiricism to support legal and clinical stalking interventions. CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 31 No. 1, February 2004 3-8 DOI: 10.1177/0093854803259239 © 2004 American Association for Correctional Psychology 3