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Stalking is the obsessive following, observing, or contacting of another person, or the obsessive attempt to engage in any of these activities.
This includes following the person to certain places, to see where they live or what the person does on a daily basis, it also includes seeking
and obtaining the person's personal information in order to contact him or her; e.g. looking for his or her details on computers, electoral rolls,
personal files and other material containing the person's private information without his or her consent.
The first state to criminalize stalking in the United States was California in 1990 due to several high profile stalking cases in California,
including the 1982 attempted murder of actress Theresa Saldana, the 1988 massacre by Richard Farley, the 1989 murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer,
and five Orange County stalking murders also in 1989. The first anti-stalking law in the United States, California Penal Code Section 646.9,
was developed and proposed by Municipal Court Judge John Watson of Orange County. Watson with U.S. Congressman Ed Royce introduced the law in 1990.
Also in 1990, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) began the United States' first Threat Management Unit, founded by LAPD Captain Robert Martin.
If you or a loved one is charged with such a crime, we may be able to get the charge dismissed or reduced to a much less serious offense.
A good investigation can frequently have the effect of getting the charges dismissed.
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