New logbook a useful resource for stalking victims

In recognition of the 17th annual National Stalking Awareness Month, Montana filmmaker and author Angela J. Townsend has published the Stalking Incident Logbook to help victims quickly record evidence, patterns of offenses perpetrated by their stalkers, and the negative impact the stalker has on their life.

National Stalking Awareness Month is an annual call to action to recognize and respond to the serious and often deadly crime of stalking.

“My hope is the Stalking Incident Logbook can be a tool not only for victims but police, criminal, and civil court officials,” Townsend stated in a press release. “Stalking is challenging to prove and even harder to prosecute. Even so, I encourage victims to notify the police and make a report as the first step, regardless of how much evidence exists. However, it can be a long, discouraging process because many stalking activities are not considered arrestable crimes — until they escalate. Repeated text messages, emails or persistent phone calls, flowers and other gifts, or even showing up at the same locations as victims.

“The key to documenting criminal activity and other malicious acts is to record them no matter how insignificant or repetitive they are in nature and soon after the incident occurs. The logbook is a quick, simple tool that makes use of fill-in-the-blanks and checkboxes.

“In no way or circumstance does this logbook constitute legal, mental,

psychiatric, or other professional advice in any form. Please consult with appropriate experts in legal, law enforcement, medicine, counseling, other city and state organizations, voluntary organizations and all and other professional areas about your particular situation, station or state of affairs.”

Townsend is the author of the horror novel “The Forlorned,” which was made into a motion picture and filmed in the Flathead Valley. She is also the president of The Forlorned, LLC.

The Stalking Incident Logbook is available in both English and Spanish on Amazon for $9.99 or email celticmoonbooks@gmail.com.

The Stalking Incident Logbook is not intended to track domestic violence, or in abusive co-habitation environments where it could be discovered by the perpetrator.

Townsend thanks Michael and Jamie Goguen of Whitefish for their support of this publication.