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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 24, 2024 03:24 PM |
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| From: | Representative Shelby Labs and Rep. Kristin Marcell, Rep. Abby Major, Rep. Natalie Mihalek, Rep. Kathleen C. Tomlinson |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Protecting Victims of Stalking |
| In the near future, we intend to introduce a package of bills to expand legal protections to stalking victims and subject stalkers to criminal penalties that are commensurate with the crime. Stalking is a significant issue in the United States that affects millions of people every year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men in the United States experience stalking at some point in their lives.[1] Alarmingly, the majority of stalking victims are, at some point, threatened by their stalkers with physical harm.[2] Effective protective measures can deter perpetrators and reduce the likelihood of these behaviors escalating into more severe forms of violence. Adults, like children, can be profoundly affected by stalking and harassment. These behaviors can lead to severe psychological trauma, social isolation, fear, and the disruption of daily life. Please join us in cosponsoring these important pieces of legislation to better protect victims of stalking and other forms of predatory behavior. |
Document #1
| Description: | Document 1 (Labs) This legislation seeks to broaden the scope of criminal liability under Pennsylvania’s stalking statute. Under current law, the crime of stalking requires the prosecution to establish that the defendant specifically intended to cause the victim to experience substantial emotional distress or to fear bodily injury. As written, the offense does not adequately reflect the reality of most stalking incidents. Indeed, many stalkers do not necessarily intend to cause substantial fear or bodily injury, although they often engage in behaviors that any reasonable person would recognize as threatening and distressing. This legislation will amend the Crimes Code to provide that a person commits the offense of stalking when the person knowingly or recklessly places another person in reasonable fear of bodily injury. By replacing the mens rea element in the stalking statute with “knowingly” or “recklessly,” we can offer greater protections to victims of stalking by focusing more on the harms and distress experienced by the victim rather than the stalker’s precise mental state. |
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Document #2
| Description: | Document 2 (Mihalek) This bill seeks to expand legal protections under Pennsylvania’s Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence and Intimidation Act (Act) to all victims of stalking and harassment. Under the Act, the only individuals who may seek a Protection From Intimidation order are minors under 18 years of age who have been victimized by stalking or harassment. An adult who has been repeatedly stalked or harassed by another individual currently has no recourse under the Act. |
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Document #3
| Description: | Document 3 (Tomlinson) Under current law, adult predators who repeatedly stalk victims are not subjected to heightened criminal penalties for second and subsequent stalking convictions. This bill will correct this glaring statutory oversight by imposing a mandatory minimum penalty of at least 5 years’ incarceration for any defendant convicted of a second or subsequent offense of stalking. |
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Document #4
| Description: | Document 4 (Major) This bill will increase the grading of the offense of stalking from a misdemeanor to a felony when the victim is a minor and the defendant is an adult who is at least four years older than the minor victim. In Bucks County, a man in his 50s relentlessly stalked his daughter’s friend for years, beginning when the victim was only 13 years old. Although the predator persistently sent sexually graphic messages to the victim and subjected her to extreme emotional distress, he only received a probationary sentence following his stalking conviction. This bill will ensure that other child predators will be subject to criminal penalties that are proportionate to the crime. |
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Document #5
| Description: | Document 5 (Marcell) This bill will allow judges to deny social media access to stalkers in Protection From Abuse (PFA) proceedings. While it is common for judges to deny criminal defendants convicted of the crime of stalking from accessing social media while serving their sentence, it is less clear whether judges may impose such restrictions under the PFA Act. This legislation will provide needed clarity in our laws and prohibit predators from surreptitiously stalking their targets on social media platforms. |
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Document #6
| Description: | Document 6 (Labs) This bill will require defendants convicted of certain domestic violence offenses such as aggravated assault, strangulation, and stalking to notify law enforcement and the Office of Victim Advocate of a variety of information, including if they obtain a new job, residency, or vehicle. These individuals will also be required to provide a current telephone number and any aliases, nicknames, or pseudonyms they use. By maintaining this information in a non-public database, law enforcement can properly monitor these dangerous individuals in a manner that will help better protect all people in this Commonwealth. |
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Document #7
| Description: | Document 7 (Labs) This bill creates the Civilian Community Relations Specialists Fund. This fund will help to alleviate the cost for police departments across the Commonwealth to establish and hire civilian community relations specialists (“CCRS”). A CCRS is an individual who works with local police departments and who duties include but are not limited to developing and implementing programs in the community to prevent crime, build public trust, promote community-oriented policing, advocate on behalf of victims and engage in public awareness on a variety of topics of interest to the community. This fund will be a separate fund in the state treasury and helping to establish CCRS will benefit countless victims throughout the Commonwealth. |
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Document #8
| Description: | Document 8 (Marcell/Labs) A resolution to recognize the month of January 2025 as “Stalking Awareness Month” in this Commonwealth. Acknowledging the prevalence of stalking in the United States and this Commonwealth will offer an opportunity to promote available resources and support systems for victims. Public awareness can also empower victims by validating their experiences and encouraging them to report stalking behavior to law enforcement. With the rise of digital technology and social media platforms, cyberstalking has become increasingly prevalent, enabling stalkers to monitor, harass, and intimidate victims from a distance, often anonymously and across various online spaces. By raising awareness, we can highlight the unique challenges of online stalking and the need for updated laws and resources to counter this harmful and highly destructive act. |
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Memo Updated: September 24, 2024 03:27 PM