An individual’s e-mail can easily be crowded by unwanted messages, including solicitations from adult sites and applications for credit cards. The line between annoyance and harassment is an easy one to cross.

According to Iowa code, a person commits harassment when they communicate with another person by telephone, telegraph, writing or electronic mail with the intent to annoy or harm.

“We deal with electronic harassment frequently,” said Chuck Cychosz, program manager for the Department of Public Safety. “We receive at least one call per week requesting information on the subject.”

Cychosz said no research has been done locally, but there have been some studies on the national level.

“There have been efforts to update the law regarding electronic harassment,” he said.

Gene Deisinger, captain of the special operations unit of DPS, said electronic harassment seems to be increasing.

Deisinger said if there are concerns of safety, the harassed person should report it.

“If the messages threaten to injure or harm, they should be taken seriously,” he said.

Cychosz said the severity of the circumstances will determine what legal steps should be taken.

“Many times all it takes is telling the sender to stop sending the messages,” he said.

If the sender continues, a case with the campus judicial system may be pursued.

“If you’re being harassed on campus, report it to DPS,” said Paul Johnson, legal consultant in the dean of students office. “Don’t delete any of the messages. Save them all.”

Deisinger said the saved messages will serve as evidence for the offender to be prosecuted.

If the harasser is caught, charges may vary on what is written in the message and if the sender has been convicted of harassment before, Johnson said.

Johnson also said the degrees of harassment can be classified as an aggravated misdemeanor, serious misdemeanor or simple misdemeanor, all of which could result in jail time if convicted.

“Harassment is harassment, whether it is by phone, e-mail or in person,” Johnson said. “It is a message delivered with intent to annoy or alarm someone with no other purpose.”