Stopping a Stalker : A Cop's Guide to Making the System Work for You

A police officer shows how to use the law to protect yourself against all types of stalkers and gives advice on preventing and deterring stalking. Coverage includes intimate-partner, casual-acquaintance, and stranger stalking, stalking of juveniles, celebrity and cause stalking, and electronic, serial, and revenge stalking. Other topics include third-party victims, and psychological effects of stalking. Final chapters explain how stalkers get their information and how to stop them, and how to navigate the criminal justice system. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Sadly, this book could hardly be more timely, what with reports of stalking making news, especially when celebrities are involved, and all manner of antistalking laws popping up. Snow aims mainly to teach how to avoid and discourage stalkers, and case histories abound. Snow breaks down stalking into more specific kinds of threatening behavior, including "cause," "revenge," "serial," and "electronic" brands of stalking. He even covers the "unintentional and third-party victims of stalking." His writing is controlled, spare yet descriptive, and, most important for true-crime appeal, documented. In the case histories, for the most part, he gives dates, names, and specifies places. For the purpose of a grim guide to life or as background material on current crime trends, it would be hard to beat the facts, clear narratives, and sound advice that Snow provides. Mike Tribby

Indianapolis police captain Snow (Family Abuse, LJ 6/1/97) has written a comprehensive, practical guide to resisting stalking. The book discusses the ten types of stalking, from intimate-partner stalking to serial stalking, relaying many celebrity-stalking and other anecdotes culled from the media and the author's own experiences. The best part of the book details how to protect personal information from prying eyes and how to respond to unwanted contact before it becomes violent. He also suggests checking out prospective dates, keeping a cellular phone on hand, and being wary of others' obsessive behavior. Finally, he chastises police and the judiciary for not taking stalking more seriously and stresses self-protection over reliance on court-issued protective orders. Highly recommended for general collections.?Harry Charles, Attorney-at-Law, St. Louis
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.