Stalkers and Assassins
All 50 states have stalking statutes and the violent crime control and law enforcement act of 1994 makes it a federal crime as well
J. Reid Meloy identifies a variety of findings from recent studies regarding stalkers and their victims.
These findings include:
--Stalkers and victims are older than most other criminals and their victims, usually occurring in their 4th decade of life
--Stalkers often have prior criminal. psychiatric and/or drug abuse histories. Stalkers may be characterized by Axis I mental disorders, such as drug and alcohol abuse, mood disorders, or schizophrenia.
--Stalkers may also be characterized by axis II personality disorders, such as paranoid personality disorder and dependent personality disorder.
--Most stalkers are not psychotic at the time of their stalking.
--Research indicated that staking is a pathology of attachment, evidenced by early childhood attachment disruptions and recent adulthood losses prior to stalking
--At least ½ of stalkers threaten their victims, and even though most threat are not carried out, the risk of violence increases when threats are articulated.
Obsessed stalkers constantly think and/or fantasize about their victims. These fantasies may be oriented toward love, anger, or vengeance.
Though stalkers rarely demonstrate violence, when they do it is most often directed first at the object (victim) of the stalking and second toward anyone perceived as interfering with access to the victim.
The psycho dynamics of stalking refer to the thoughts, emotions, and defenses I n the mind of the stalker that are related to the victim(object or pursuit). Meloy identifies the characteristics of the stalkers fantasies:
idealizing--thoughts of being loved or loving or admired or admiring the object (victim)
mirroring--being exactly like the object (victim)
twinship--complementing the object(victim) or
merger--sharing a destiny with the object (victim)
Stalker Profile
Stalkers may have had an intimate relationship with their victims or merely the desire to have had one. The latter may focus on classmates, coworkers, or mere acquainted. Stalkers often have obsessive fantasies or love, anger or vengeance about their victims. Many stalkers have a history of failed relationships, have difficulty communicating with people and may be overwhelmed by real or perceived rejection.
Though stalkers have poor communication and social skills. they have good planning behaviors that help them master their stalking terrorism, while staying on the edge or the law. They may be of surprisingly high intelligence. They have be male or female, but female stalkers are just as dangerous in many cases. Again, stalkers may be motivated by love, anger or to avenge a perceived wrong.
Though stalkers are characterized by a variety of disturbed attachment styles and mental disorders, research indicates they may share at least 2 similarities. first early attachment disturbance may be predisposing faction in stalking and second adult recent loss may precipitate stalking.
Thought disorders from axis I (clinical syndromes) from the DSM IV affecting the ability to discern the real from the unreal is common in stalkers. Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thought. This may be manifested as schizophrenia or one of a variety of other delusional disorders.
Other diagnostic characteristics of stalkers may include a symptom known as ideas of reference in which ordinary events are interpreted by the delusional person to have a special personal meaning. Another symptom may involve some type of mood disorder such as manic or depression disorder. Depression related relationship discord and schism may lead the stalker to suicide or homicide particularly associated with work place violence.
Stalkers may also be identified with the axis I category substance use (abuse or dependence) disorder. Stalkers may also be identified with axis II (developmental disorders and personality disorders) from the DSM IV cluster A,B, C disorders. But most typically are characterized by antisocial, borderline, histionaic and narcissistic personality disorders.
Victimology
Stalker/Victim Types:
1) the simple obsession in which the victim and perpetrator have prior knowledge or each other
2) the love obsession which is characterized by the absence of an existing relationship between the perpetrator and the victim
3) erotomaanic groups which are characterized by the suspect's delusional belief that he/she is loved by the victim (erotomania)
An additional category of stalker types is false victimization syndrome. This category is characterized by the creation of elaborate scenarios to falsely support reports of being stalked. The victims are usually female, usually exhibit hisrionic personality disorder and this type is usually motivated by an attempt to resurrect a perceived failing relationship
The rest of this section will go into more detail about stalking and the stalker personality.
Stalkers set out to destroy the object he most admired, that he most coveted and in doing so accomplish something of note. The stalker and the non- political assassin are obsessed with the object of their attention and or what they represent.
A stalker is someone who engages in a course of conduct that would place a reasonable person in fear for his or her safety, and that the stalker intended and did in fact, place the victim in such fear.
In some ways it is harder to develop a general profile of a stalker than a rapist or murder. They can come from any background, walk of life and their behavior can accelerate from seemingly normally to deadly quickly. The majority of stalkers are men and in most cases, a male offender stalks a female victim. Most stalkers are in their late teens and early 20's up to their 40's and of above-average intelligence. They are typically lonely people, often socially withdrawn, and may have a closer relationship with their TV set than with other human beings. Some have never had a close personal relationship, never had sex and have no immediate prospects of either.
We start out by placing them into one of two broad categories so called love-obsession stalkers, where victim's are people they don't really know, and simple obsession stalkers, who focus their attention on people they know and with whom they might have had a pervious relationship, rather than a complete stranger. Simple obsession stalking is closely tied to domestic violence.
The love-obsession variety are what most people think of upon hearing the word stalker. since their cases often get the sensational press coverage. This type fixates on celebrity, although they have been known to develop obsessions with ordinary non-famous people as well. The key is that the victim has no real relationship with the stalker, they could be causal acquaintances or not have met at all.
Attachment seekers are motivated by the desire to form a relationship with the individual they stalk. Identity Seekers are looking for fame themselves, and recognition they can attain through their acts. Rejection based stalkers may be attachment seekers gone bad, stalkers who are looking for either revenge for their perceived rejection by the celebrity or to change the star's mind about them, these are the most dangerous type. More likely than others to harm or kill. Delusional based stalkers think there is a force leading them to fulfill some mission.
Though delusional stalkers represent the majority of those who pursue the rich and famous they are in the minority of all stalking cases. They often suffer from some mental disorder. such as schizophrenia, a psychiatric condition wherein the stalker actually believes the object of his obsession return the desire and wants to pursue the relationship. their mental illness also makes them difficult to treat or rehabilitate.
Socially inadequate and often incapable of forming personal relationships in the real world, many stalkers create a fantasy life with their love object. the script it out and expect the other person to act accordingly.
The love-obsession stalkers who are not delusional nonetheless operate with a heavy dose of fantasy as well. For a man who believes that some woman is his destiny, who sees the two of them as halves of the same whole, incomplete without each other, the fantasy relationship is critical to his sense of self. Rather that taking rejection as a sign he should leave her alone and move on with his life, he sees this as an indication that he has to step up his efforts.
The danger develops in many cases when the stalker does not get what he wants from the victim. Desperate for the relationship of his dreams, if the object of his affection does not respond positively. The offender may turn to intimidation and threatening behavior to get the response he seeks. Falling this, he may turn to violence.
The assassin personality is similar to that of a celebrity stalker. Both tend to be paranoid, lacking trust in other individuals.
Usually loners, they are not relaxed in the presence of others and not practiced or skilled in social interaction. Like many celebrity stalkers though, in contrast to their inability or unwillingness to communicate through normal conversation, they keep a running dialogue with themselves, often painstakingly detailing their thoughts and fantasies in a diary. After the stalking and murder of a celebrity or politician, we tend to find that the offender has a thick diary. With entry after entry about the attack rationalizing planning it. Fantasizing about it. It's like they're programming themselves to commit the crime, building courage to take action as they never have before.
Assassin Personalities tend to be white male loners with self-esteem problems, they tend to be functional paranoid schizophrenics, who have serious psychosis often described as shattered personality. They may be delusional but not hallucinatory. Rather their paranoia may be described as highly organized or methodical delusional system that may be convincing if you accept the basic premise. If you accept the basic(delusional) premise that everyone is out to get a particular individual and is ready and able to do him harm, then it becomes a convincing argument that this individual should strike out and neutralize these enemies before they can act against him.
Assassins are generally not leaders, and one of the reasons they are attracted to strong, charismatic personalities is to compensate for what they see, either consciously or subconsciously, as their own emotional short comings. Like serial killers, most of them come from troubled childhoods.
Another telling characteristic is the way assassins tend to express themselves. A very large number of them will keep diaries or journals recording not just events that happened or the way they are feeling on a particular day, but also every slight done to them and imagined conspiracies as well as detailed plans for what to do about them. Since they don't have any close friends or trusted confidantes, there social isolation they express themselves to themselves in detailed secret communications. In many cases, they actually use this journal writing to program themselves to commit crime.
In planning an assassination the offender imagines that this one big event will prove once and for all that he has worth, that he can do and be something. It proves an identity and purpose as nothing in his life ever has. You can see this pathetic desperation in the fact that assassins are so focused on how people will perceive them after they've acted on their fantasy they don't always build an escape plan.
Another trait shared by celebrity stalkers and assassins is their odd lack of loyalty to their cause.
The violent act is a result of a deep-seated feeling of inadequacy on the part of the assassin. The assassin overwhelmingly is a white male in his 20's who does not feel good about himself and never has. In some way, he sees the violent act as some solution to his problem.
Assassin Profile
The primary goal of every protective intelligence investigation is to prevent an attack on a potential target. By using a combination of investigative skill, corroboration and common sense. A protective intelligence investigator can gather the information and evidence to make a thoughtful assessment of the threat an individual may pose to a target.
Once an assessment is made a plan can be developed and implemented to monitor the individual and to intervene as appropriate to prevent an attack, attention to the individuals motives and attack related behaviors and to the system (family, work, community, criminal justice, mental health and social service) that the individual is involved with are key to assessing and managing a potential threat.
The following information will deal with the myth and reality of assassination. From the National Institute of Justice research report Threat Assessment:
Myth 1--There is a profile of the assassin
Fact--Attackers and near-lethal approaches do not fit any one description or demographic profile (or even several descriptive or demographic profiles). Meaning that anyone at any time may become an assassin.
Myth 2--Assassination is a product of mental illness or derangement.
Fact--Mental Illness only rarely plays a key role in assassinations behavior.
As with serial killers, it would be nice to believe that all assassins are drooling maniacs, however, that can't be farther from the truth. While assassins do have sevear emotional issues, none are what could be legally considered "insane"
Myth 3--The person most likely to carry out attacks are those who make direct threats
Fact--Persons who pose an actual threat often do not make threats, especially direct threats.
The following list is of key observations about assassin's, while reading it keep in mind there is NO assassin profile.
Assassinations and attacks on public officials and figures are the product of understandable and often discernible process of thinking and behavior.
Most people who attack others perceive the attack as the means to a goal or a way to solve a problem.
As individuals motives and selection of a target are directly connected.
Attacks are the product of organized thinking and behavior. Attacks are not the product of spontaneous actions. They are well planned and thought out. The notion of attacking the President does not leap fully formed into the mind of a person standing at a political rally attended by the president. Ideas of assassination develop over weeks, months even years and are stimulated by television and newspaper images, movies and books.
After target selection, the assassin or would be assassin w ill rehearse before the attack.
The attack itself is a means to an ed for the attacker or would be attacker. If the person views violence as an acceptable or permissible solution, the risk of violent action increases.
violence especially assassination is an event in which a person triggered by an event or change and operating in a situation that facilitates permits or does not prevent violence takes action against a designated target. These 4 elements the potential attacker, event, situation, and target from the basis for a threat assessment.
If anyone is interested in seeing this section expand even more let me know.
Forensic Profilers
Source Information--The Anatomy of Motive, John Douglas, Mark Olshaker. 1999 Simon & Schuster Inc.
The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Brian Lane and Wilfred Gregg. 1992 Berkley Books. Headline Book Publishing
Obsession, John Douglas and Mark Olshanker. 1998 Simon and Schuster Inc.
Mind Hunter, John Douglas and Mark Olshanker. 1995 Simion and Schuster Inc.
I have lived in the Monster Robert K. Ressler and Tom Shactman 1997. St, Martin Press
Profiling the Criminal Mind Behavioral science and Criminal Investigative Analysis. by Dr. Robert J. Girod Sr. 2004 iUniverse Inc.
National Institute of Justice Research Paper "Threat Assessment"
