How does cyber technology impact interactions between offenders and victims?
Technology has given modern criminals a new way to pursue the deviant behavior of stalking and harassing their victims. Stalking and harassment is not a new term, but with the availability of the internet it affords those who wish to commit such acts a new means to do so from anywhere in the world. Prior to the involvement of technology, a stalker would physically present themselves in places where they knew the victim would be in order to get their attention. They might leave notes or other physical items that could potentially lead investigators back to them. While stalking and harassment might seems like a mere annoyance for the victim, it can become deadly. With the current technology, if the stalker is technically savvy, they can hide behind a VPN and send out repeated messages to their victim without being detected. Even when the offender is caught, like in the case of the young lady who committed suicide after repeatedly receiving online hate messages, the burden of proof fell on law enforcement to prove that the online harassment received from the stalker was the cause of the young lady’s death and if criminal charges on the offender could be pursued. Many states are working to update their laws concerning stalking and harassment. Some states are developing completely new laws to address the issues, while others are modifying the current laws to include cyber harassment and cyber stalking.