Training session on stalking held for area police

Stalking behavior hasn't changed much since the beginning of human civilization, but advances in technology have altered the access stalkers now have to their victims, said Jodi B. Rafkin, program attorney for the Stalking Resource Center.

Rafkin was one of three speakers who participated in a sexual violence information training session targeting stalking, held Wednesday at Southeast Missouri State University and United Methodist Church in Charleston, Mo.

The seminar was offered to area law enforcement officers through the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence, the Susanna Wesley Family Resource Center and the criminology and sociology department at Southeast.

About 70 people participated in Wednesday's seminar, and training sessions Tuesday focused on procedures for dealing with caregivers of child victims.

According to Rafkin, about 3.4 million people per year experience some form of stalking.

The widespread use, relatively low cost and ready access to new technology such as GPS tracking devices, cell phone ID cards and computer spyware have changed the landscape of stalking, Rafkin said.

Rafkin described a situation in which a woman's estranged husband had planted a silent cell phone in her Toyota Land Cruiser, wired to the car battery so the phone could recharge. The phone was equipped with a GPS receiver and microphone so he could track her whereabouts and monitor phone conversations she had in her car.

Scores of websites offer detailed information telling potential stalkers how to set up wiretaps and hidden cameras, she said.

Information brokers who deal in selling personal information such as employment data, addresses and Social Security numbers can pose an even bigger threat to stalking victims, Rafkin said.

"The Internet has made accessible a lot of information formerly reserved for law enforcement," Rafkin said.

She advised safeguarding as much personal information as possible by avoiding social networking sites or at least using privacy settings, and ignoring any suspicious e-mails that request the downloading of files, often spyware in disguise.

Mark J. Wojnarek, program director for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office special victims unit in Clarksville, Tenn., and social worker Chris Ragsdale, of Charlotte, N.C., also participated as guest speakers during the seminar.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635