Stalking in Broward County, Florida

Broward County prosecutes stalking cases more aggressively than the statewide average. The guilty rate of 56.4 percent reflects strong conviction outcomes, while the withheld adjudication rate of 35.7 percent is notably higher than Florida's statewide average of 20.9 percent. Together, these mean nearly 92 percent of cases result in guilt or withheld findings. The dismissal rate of 4.3 percent runs slightly above the statewide average of 3.0 percent, suggesting Broward prosecutors are selective about which cases they pursue to trial. Diversion remains rare at 1.4 percent, well below the statewide rate of 7.1 percent, indicating the State Attorney's office in this circuit prioritizes adjudication over alternative resolution pathways for stalking charges.

Defendants convicted or adjudicated of stalking in Broward face substantial consequences. The average sentence is 453 days with a median of 258 days, paired with an average of 1,306 days of probation. Prison confinement affects 10 percent of defendants, while jail incarceration reaches 31.4 percent, meaning roughly four in ten defendants spend time behind bars. This confinement rate reflects the serious nature of how stalking is handled locally, with most penalties centering on probation supervision rather than lengthy incarceration.