Interview with Jeremiah Harville, July 21, 2010

Partial Transcript: Do you just want to tell us a little bit about who you are and what your position is, currently?

Segment Synopsis: Harville tells the interviewer his position within Lexington, Kentucky law enforcement as a Special Victims Unit detective. He discusses his overall impression of stalking, specifically what it means within the law, the differences between the two degrees of stalking within prosecution, and how the crime affects the victims.

Keywords: Domestic violence; Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS); Lexington (Ky.) law enforcement; Special Victims Unit

Subjects: Family violence; Kentucky; Law enforcement; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking

Partial Transcript: So of course, two or more acts isn’t going to get you a charge probably or a prosecution, so, how do you know it when you see it, like, for you?

Segment Synopsis: Harville discusses the behaviors that he believes are “red flags” for stalking, including repeatedly contacting or following a person despite the protestations of the victim. He talks about how some cases of stalking can be dangerous, particularly if the stalker also exhibits domestic violence behaviors in previous interactions with a victim.

Keywords: Domestic violence; Domestic violence detectives; Special Victims Unit; Victims of stalking

Subjects: Cyberstalking; Family violence; Law enforcement; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Victims; Violent crimes

Partial Transcript: So, what do you think about the victim--the impact of stalking on the victims, from your experience?

Segment Synopsis: Harville talks about the impact of stalking on the victim, regardless of the intentions of the stalker.

Keywords: Domestic violence; Victims of stalking; Violent crime impact

Subjects: Family violence; Law enforcement; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Stalking victims; Victims

Partial Transcript: Let’s talk a little bit about how did you get into this field?

Segment Synopsis: Harville discusses his career prior to his work in domestic violence cases, working previously in child victimization crimes across the state of Kentucky. He talks about his work as a police officer before becoming a Special Victims Unit detective.

Keywords: Careers in law enforcement; Child abuse detectives; Child victimization; Special Victims Units

Subjects: Careers; Child abuse; Kentucky; Law enforcement; Lexington (Ky.); Stalking

Partial Transcript: So when you say it can make a big impact, can you expand on that?

Segment Synopsis: Harville further discusses the impact of stalking on the victim. He talks about the traumatic nature of stalking for the victim, as their stalker is often someone they know and trust. He discusses how the case should be handled during prosecution, as the outcome of the case will have a large impact on quality of life for the victim. Harville then talks about the different reactions from victims to stalking and how all reactions are valid, even ones where the victim does not want to cooperate. He discusses how many victims do not want to cooperate with him due to his gender and his standing as part of law enforcement.

Keywords: Domestic violence; Law enforcement--Lexington (Ky.); Male detectives; Quality of life; Victims of stalking

Subjects: Law enforcement; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Stalking victims; Victims; Victims of crimes

Partial Transcript: So are there any, um, cases or examples that you, um--that kind of struck you in terms of really getting stalking.

Segment Synopsis: Harville talks about one case in particular which illustrates how significant an impact stalking has on someone’s life. Harville discusses more details of the case and how he realized how extreme many stalkers will be in their behavior. He then talks about interviewing perpetrators and how many of them believe their behaviors are normal or not unlawful because their behavior is not violent.

Keywords: Domestic violence; Perpetrators (Criminal act); Victims of domestic violence; Victims of stalking, Law enforcement--Lexington (Ky.)

Subjects: Abused women; Burden of proof; Criminal act; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Stalking victims; Victims; Victims of crimes

Partial Transcript: You seen any, like, uh, teenage stalking?

Segment Synopsis: Harville talks about how many stalking issues involving teenagers are mostly cyber-stalking, on such sites as Facebook. He discusses other behaviors teenagers exhibit which constitute stalking, including starting rumors at school or leaving notes on cars. He talks about how teenagers may not recognize the dangerous aspects of stalking behaviors.

Keywords: Stalking behaviors; Teenage criminals; Teenage stalkers; Teenage stalking victims

Subjects: Cyberstalking; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Stalking victims; Teenagers; Victims of crimes

Partial Transcript: What do you think the biggest challenge is with stalking?

Segment Synopsis: Harville discusses how, for many victims, it is difficult to understand that the stalking behaviors they experience are a crime. He talks about the realities of stalking beyond the popular definition. He discusses a case he discussed previously in the interview and how the victim realized what they were experiencing was a crime. He encourages victims to come forward after a few repeated actions, even if they do not seem dangerous at the time.

Keywords: Criminal behaviors; Criminal patterns; Domestic violence; Patrol officers; Stalking behaviors; Stalking patterns

Subjects: Criminal act; Law enforcement; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Stalking victims; Victims of crimes

Partial Transcript: What advice would you give a victim when she calls, uh, for an interview?

Segment Synopsis: Harville talks about the importance of documentation for a victim, like keeping a journal to record stalking behaviors and writing down if there is a witness to the act. He also suggests keeping a camera or a cell phone to record digital evidence. Harville then talks about proper stalking education, so the general public can understand if they are the victims of stalking or can understand the frequency of the crime. He emphasizes the importance of educating teenagers and college-aged people in particular.

Keywords: Documenting criminal behaviors; Special Victims Unit detectives; Stalking documentation; Stalking evidence; Stalking--Awareness; Victim advice

Subjects: Documentation; Evidence; Law enforcement; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Victims of crimes; Victims of stalking

Partial Transcript: Um, do you--have you seen any stalking around sexual assault victims, um, either before or even after?

Segment Synopsis: Harville discusses the intersection of stalking behavior and sexual assault. He talks about one case in particular where the victim was randomly assaulted and another victim was stalked. He discusses how stalking rarely occurs after a sexual assault, due to the perpetrator being jailed or avoiding further contact with the victim.

Keywords: Crimes of opportunity; Sexual assault; Sexual assault and stalking; Stalking behaviors; Victims of sexual assault

Subjects: Indecent assault; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Victims of crimes; Victims of stalking

Partial Transcript: Going back, just more sort of just a general--(Harville clears throat)--issue with stalking, do you think that stalking poses a risk to the general public, at all?

Segment Synopsis: Harville talks about how stalking is a risk to the general public because many stalkers take advantage of public spaces to stalk their victims and could hurt people near to the victim. Harville emphasizes the criminal nature of stalking. He talks about the frustrations of prosecuting stalking within the criminal justice system, particularly if the victim cannot provide physical evidence of stalking behaviors. Harville then discusses how the perpetrators get away with stalking behaviors for a long period of time, as they are not bound to act lawfully like police are.

Keywords: Crimes in public spaces; Criminal justice system; Families of victims; Risk to the general public; Stalking behaviors

Subjects: Criminal justice; Lexington (Ky.); Stalkers; Stalking; Stalking--Law and legislation; Victims of crimes; Victims of family violence; Victims of stalking

Partial Transcript: If you could just wave a magic wand, what would you change?

Segment Synopsis: Harville talks about how, if he could change the law, he would make both degrees of stalking within the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) a felony, as the crime can lead to more serious, violent crimes. He discusses the effects of personal technology on stalking and how including “cyber-stalking” into the Kentucky statutes has helped in the prosecution of stalking cases.

Keywords: Domestic violence laws--Kentucky; Felony stalking; Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS); Kentucky. Laws, statutes, etc.; Stalking misdemeanors

Subjects: Criminal justice; Cyberstalking; Kentucky. Laws, etc.; Stalkers; Stalking; Stalking--Law and legislation; Victims of crimes; Victims of stalking

Partial Transcript: I’m still stuck on this issue of--that you’ve ta--you kind of started, and I agree with you, that, that there’s some lower-, um, risk cases versus higher-risk cases in terms of stalking.

Segment Synopsis: Harville discusses the particular behaviors of a stalker which indicate that the victim may be in danger of extreme physical violence. He talks about how the stalker may not be thinking rationally, which can have severe consequences for the victim. He also talks about how the stalker showing up in public places, or the behaviors escalating, indicate that the stalker is no longer acting rationally and may soon become violent. Harville discusses how stalkers typically work alone because they do not want anyone to know their crimes.

Keywords: Domestic violence; Felony stalking; High-risk stalking behaviors; Kentucky. Laws, statutes, etc.; Proxy stalking; Stalking--Violence

Subjects: Kentucky; Stalkers; Stalking; Victims of crimes; Victims of stalking; Violent crimes

Partial Transcript: Can you give us an example of a case where their--the children were pulled into that stalking?

Segment Synopsis: Harville discusses cases in which the children are used as bargaining pieces or messengers between the stalker and the victim. He talks about how many children in stalking cases are unaware of the implications of stalking, as they are unaware of the dangers of those behaviors, particularly if the stalker is their parent. Harville discusses a particular instance of children involved in a stalking case in Lexington, Kentucky.

Keywords: Child visitation; Children of divorced parents; Children of stalking victims; Stalking--Child involvement; Sunflower Kids (Lexington, Ky.)

Subjects: Children; Kentucky; Stalkers; Stalking; Victims of crimes; Victims of stalking

Partial Transcript: Can, can I ask a question?

Segment Synopsis: Harville talks about his strategies in gaining the trust of a victim of stalking. He discusses various cases in which the victims did not get the results they wanted and how he talks with these victims to make them feel at ease. He also discusses how he has not had a case where a victim is not telling the truth or is exaggerating their circumstances.

Keywords: Gaining trust; Lexington (Ky.)--Law enforcement; Trusting law enforcement

Subjects: Kentucky; Kentucky. Laws, etc.; Stalkers; Stalking; Victims of crime; Victims of stalking

Partial Transcript: Do you--I'm sorry--do you have victims, like, that come to you, who maybe have gone months or even years to law enforcement…

Segment Synopsis: Harville discusses how victims often report stalking behaviors over a long period of time and how law enforcement can respond to these reports. He talks about how the law has evolved to protect victims of stalking, including restraining orders for victims who do not cohabitate or have a child with the perpetrator.

Keywords: Domestic Violence Orders (DVO); Emergency Protective Orders (EPO); Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS); Protective orders; Victim advice

Subjects: Restraining orders; Stalkers; Stalking; Stalking--Law and legislation; Victims of stalking