A South Side alderman says she wants an explanation for the Chicago Police Department’s low arrest rates in cases where women are stalked and harassed on social media.
Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th, who heads the City Council’s women’s caucus, raised the issue this week in response to a Tribune investigation that found Chicago police made arrests in only 2% of the domestic-related electronic harassment and cyberstalking complaints received in the past 10 years. The arrest rate last year was about 1%.
“I certainly want to have a conversation with CPD about it, to just better understand what their processes are and what the challenges are,” Lee said. “I know that we’ve got challenges across the city. … I think there’s a lot that needs to be done to better understand how we can support the police in providing more resources to address these issues. It seems like we’ve got the right laws on the books, but enforcement is key in terms of the actions that are taken.”
To demonstrate her concern, Lee attended a recent news conference and stood behind Dominique Ward, a Chicago woman who has filed multiple electronic harassment complaints that never resulted in criminal charges. Court documents and other records reviewed by the Tribune detail how her children’s father — a computer whiz with a significant social media following — has offered to pay his social media followers for photographs and videos of the girls.
The father, Micah Berkley, previously told the Tribune he believed he had a First Amendment right to solicit the pictures and has paid about $6,000 for images in the past two years. He described it as “technological warfare” to fight back against custody and child support rulings that didn’t go his way.
Berkley declined to comment Friday, saying he wouldn’t speak to the Tribune any further without his lawyer.
He has said authorities never questioned him about his social media postings. Unrelated to the father’s Facebook activity, a Cook County judge issued a body attachment for Berkley earlier this year, allowing for his detainment in light of more than $50,000 in unpaid child support, records show. Such orders are similar to bench warrants, though they are rarely executed in civil cases where the subjects live out of state.
A Tribune analysis found the Chicago Police Department receives thousands of electronic harassment and cyberstalking complaints each year, more than a third of which are categorized as domestic-related. In 2023, for example, more than 2,400 people reported being electronically harassed or cyberstalked in Chicago — with more than 800 of them saying the abuse was perpetrated by someone with whom they have a familial or intimate relationship.
Of those 824 domestic-related complaints last year, only nine — slightly more than 1% — resulted in an arrest.
It’s an arrest rate more than 15 times lower than other domestic crimes in 2023, including battery and order of protection violations. Of more commonly reported crimes, only those involving deception — such as pickpocketing, unauthorized credit card use and confidence games — have lower arrest rates.
A 2023 Rand study concluded authorities can find electronic harassment and cyberstalking difficult to investigate because the cases often involve tech-savvy offenders who are deft at hiding their tracks and it is sometimes hard to prove the suspect actually wrote the offending message. In a statement to the Tribune, the Chicago Police Department hinted at some of those same obstacles.
“The Chicago Police Department takes domestic violence cases, including electronic harassment and cyberstalking cases, seriously,” CPD said in a statement. “These investigations are complex and difficult based on the evidence available. As we work to seek justice in these cases, we also are working to support the victims and connect them with resources specifically focused on those who have experienced the trauma of domestic violence.”
In urging police to take electronic harassment more seriously, Ward also called on Meta — Facebook’s parent company — to make it easier to report and remove problematic accounts. Despite Ward’s frequent requests to have Berkley’s pages removed, the social media company did not deactivate his account until Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office intervened and demanded the pages be taken down.
“Victims, in general, aren’t able to access the governor’s office,” Ward said. “So we need Meta to enforce their own policies and law enforcement, at all levels, to enforce the law.”
A Meta spokesman said the company could not discuss specific cases but stated that Facebook responds to requests from law enforcement to remove posts.
Domestic violence experts have applauded Ward for raising awareness about electronic harassment, but they also have criticized the system that made speaking out one of the few remaining options.
“No survivor should have to risk their safety and the safety of their children by going public with their story to get the attention of law enforcement or large corporations like Meta,” said Darci Flynn, former director of gender-based violence strategy & policy for Mayor Lori Lightfoot and principal consultant at Brave Path Strategies. “There are tools and technology used by law enforcement every single day to investigate cyber crimes. The fact that law enforcement is claiming there are no solutions in this case — a case where the person causing harm brazenly and unapologetically publicly admits to the tactics he is using — is disgraceful.”