Harassing
phone calls have become a concern for the Appalachian State University
Police Department.
“We have had a lot of reports of harassing phone calls,”
said Maj. Larry Foster of the University Police. “Most of the
time the calls consist of silence or either someone just hanging
up.”
Six cases of harassing phone calls have been reported to campus
police already during the spring semester, warranting the attention
and time of the police to process an incident report in hopes of
finding the perpetrator(s).
When there is a complaint about this type of disturbance, an officer
is dispatched to meet with the person filing a report.
The victim is then asked to fill out a “Harassing Phone Call
Log,” a small booklet designed to help solve the case by recording
certain characteristics of the caller’s voice and approach.
Among the qualities this log takes into account are voice inflection,
tone and volume.
The log is also designed to help the victim testify exactly what
happened during the call, whether it was a hang-up or profanity
was used.
“In most of these cases, an arrest is never made, which makes
this a hard crime to deal with,” Foster said. “Young women
seem to be the primary targets in these cases.”
The bulk of the reports have originated from Appalachian Heights
Apartments, although there has been one report filed at East Residence
Hall.
“[A harassing phone call] could be considered coercion or intimidation,”
Director of Student Judicial Affairs Judy M. Haas said. “Therefore
it would fall under the more generic term of ‘hostile communication.’”
“The penalty could fall anywhere between a reprimand and expulsion,”
said Haas. “It would be handled on a case by case basis, depending
on what kind of harassment has been going on, dialogue with the
student that has been harassed and the type of communication that’s
been used. However, it would most likely fall somewhere between
general and specific university probation.”
