What is Considered Stalking in Seattle?

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1 What is Considered Stalking in Seattle?

What is Considered Stalking in Seattle?

Hey there! If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering what exactly counts as stalking here in Seattle. I feel you – stalking laws can be kinda confusing and complicated. As someone whose been there, I want to break it down for you in simple terms.

First off, stalking is generally defined as a pattern of unwanted behavior that involves monitoring, harassing, or repeatedly contacting or following someone else. It’s the kind of thing that would make a reasonable person feel frightened, threatened, or intimidated.

Now in Washington state, stalking is specifically considered a crime when:

Someone repeatedly bothers you or follows you in a way that’s meant to scare you
You have a reasonable fear that the stalker wants to harm you, someone else, your property, or someone else’s property

So what kinds of “stalking behavior” could get someone in trouble with the law? Here’s some examples:

Following you around in person
Repeatedly showing up at your home, work, school, or hangouts
Tracking your phone, car, or other devices without consent
Contacting you constantly through calls, texts, emails, etc. after you’ve asked them to stop
Posting about you excessively on social media
Spreading rumors about you
Sending unwanted gifts
Making physical threats

As you can see, stalking can take all sorts of forms – both online and in the real world. The key things are that the behavior is unwanted, causes fear, and continues even after the victim has clearly said to cut it out.

How the Law Can Help

If you’re being stalked, Washington law provides two main options – civil and criminal:

Civil: Protection Orders

A civil anti-harassment or stalking protection order from a court can order the stalker to stop contacting you and stay away. If they violate the order, they can be arrested. You can petition for one of these orders by filing at your local courthouse. Make sure to bring along any evidence you have of the stalking.

Criminal

You can also report stalking behavior to the police as a crime. If there’s enough evidence, the stalker can be criminally charged and prosecuted.

In Washington, we’ve got two criminal laws dealing with stalking:

Stalking – Intentionally and repeatedly harassing or following someone in a way that causes reasonable fear of harm to them or their property. This is a gross misdemeanor.
Cyberstalking – Using electronic communications like texts, social media, etc. to stalk someone. Also a gross misdemeanor.

If convicted, the stalker can face up to a year in jail and $5,000 in fines. But if any of the below circumstances apply, it becomes a felony with harsher punishments:

They violate a protection order while stalking you
They’ve been convicted of stalking before
They threaten to kill you or someone else
They possess a deadly weapon while stalking
You’re a witness and they’re retaliating through stalking

As you can see, Washington doesn’t mess around when it comes to stalking! Both civil and criminal laws here take it very seriously and aim to prevent harm.

What To Do If You’re Being Stalked

If you feel you’re being stalked, here’s some practical tips:

Trust your instincts – if a situation feels wrong, get help
Keep evidence like texts, photos, videos, etc.
Tell the stalker clearly to stop contacting you
Limit what you share online about your life/schedule
Let friends and family know what’s going on
Consider getting security cameras
Change up your routine to be less predictable
Get law enforcement and/or a lawyer involved

I know that facing stalking can be scary and overwhelming. But you don’t have to handle it alone – there are people ready to help, along with laws in place to protect you. So reach out and stay strong! You’ve got this.

Hope this breakdown helped explain the legal deal with stalking around here. Stay safe out there!