MSUDPPS Special Victims Unit Detective Aaron Schroeder said that under the Clery Act, stalking can be defined as someone engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress. 

Schroeder said the state-wide definition is more specific, defining it as a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened and intimidated. 

This specified definition is important, Schroeder said, as the typical conduct of a non-assaultive stalker is not illegal. This definition was created so that stalking behavior could be criminalized in Michigan without infringing on the rights of other citizens. 

Schroeder said stalking is most commonly someone already known to the victim, whether that be an acquaintance or ex-partner. He said it is also common to see stalking incidents in cases where there has previously been intimate partner violence. 

According to the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center, 40% of stalking victims are stalked by current or former intimate partners and 57% of intimate partner stalking victims are stalked during the relationship. 

Schroeder said that stalking can also be commonly seen on social media. He said the department has seen incidents involving someone blocking a phone number and a perpetrator creating a new number via certain apps to still get in contact with that person. 

“With cyber stuff, just because of the ease of access, you don’t even have to leave where you are to affect somebody through that,” he said. 

Reporting options 

Those who feel that they are being stalked can report the incident to the MSU Office for Civil Rights.

Title IX Communications Manager Christian Chapman said that students have various avenues to report a stalking incident. They can report incidents online through the Public Incident Reporting Form or by emailing ocr.isr@msu.edu. Another option is to submit directly to Title IX Coordinator Laura Rugless at ocr.lauragless@msu.edu. 

There is also the option to report by phone by contacting the Investigation, Support, and Resolution Department at 517-353-3922 or by going in person to 408 W. Circle Dr. 

Students can report anonymously, but Chapman said this can limit how the unit moves forward with an investigation. In a formal investigation, the identities of those involved are included in the complaint that is issued to the claimant and the respondent. However, the office works to ensure the privacy of both parties as well as the witnesses and information gathered.

Resources at MSU

Schroeder said the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety meets weekly with staff from the Office for Civil Rights to stay up-to-date on reports they receive that should be included on the Clery Log. 

“A lot of these things that you might be seeing on the crime log are situations where ... the Clery office, the Office for Civil Rights, and our staff here have gotten together and determined that it meets one of these definitions, but we might not actually have a victim or survivor working with us," he said. 

Schroeder said that people who have filed reports will be sent support and outreach resources via email as well as their options if they choose to engage with the investigation process.

If they choose not to engage, the incident still remains on the log, meaning not all cases of stalking on the log are open investigations. Even with the incidents making it onto the log, Schroeder said the details of each one remain confidential, regardless of whether there is an ongoing investigation or not.

Regardless of whether or not someone chooses to report a stalking incident, Chapman said there are various resources they can turn to for help. Free and confidential therapy is available at the MSU Center for Survivors and MSU Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS). MSU Safe Place, which is within the Center for Survivors, provides support groups, advocacy and shelter to any MSU students who may have experienced intimate partner violence or stalking. 

In an emailed statement, Kathleen Miller, associate director and advocacy supervisor at the MSU Center for Survivors, said victims of stalking can reach out to a confidential advocate through the center's hotline, 517-372-0666, to discuss options available to them in regards to reporting and getting support. 

What happens after reporting 

The reason stalking cases tend to be looped together on the log is due to outreach that is done after someone reports stalking in a certain area on campus. Schroeder said that if they get a report that someone is being stalked in a residence hall, for example, they will typically do housing outreach to see if anyone else has been impacted and will typically find more cases of people having a similar interaction.   

Even though it isn’t the job of his department to make convictions when it comes to stalking cases, Schroeder said they still take into account the mental health concerns regarding a stalking perpetrator and will typically loop in partners from the MSU Care and Intervention Team as well as the Office of Student Support and Accountability to get different referrals for the perpetrator in that case.

Oftentimes, Schroeder said victims want different things when it comes to retribution. Typically their top focus is to be left alone, but he also said it is common for victims to want their perpetrator to be held accountable either through the university or through the criminal justice system.  

“What we try to do as much as we possibly can is keep being very victim-centered and be very much focused on how to best serve the needs of the person who is impacted by this,” he said.