The Escalation of Stalking into Homicide: A Thematic Analysis of Offender Behaviours, Policing Failures, and the Requirement for a Stalkers Register and Risk Assessment Tool

With stalking and an escalation of such concerning behaviours being highly present in cases of homicide, the current study uses thematic analysis to locate common and uncommon victim demographics, behavioural risk factors, and issues in policing. Gathered from public media sources 32 cases of stalking which resulted in the murder or attempted murder of the victim were examined regardless of jurisdiction or background factors. Females, aged 25 and below, were most at risk of stalking-homicide conducted by a male perpetrator with whom they held a previous intimate relationship. Common themes within the demographics and behavioural risk factors were developed into a proposed risk factor checklist, whilst the issues in policing highlighted space for development in the investigation of stalking victims and stalking-homicide cases.