The torturer/handler does not have to be in the same neighborhood as the targeted individual, however, in my experience they usually are. They could be anyplace in the world where they can use the internet. However they are local I believe so that they can call upon their network of sociopaths to reign down organized stalkers to harass the TI. The Harassment is to increase the agitation and make the TI as nervous as possible and even terrified if possible. You see, bodily injury and time to sickness is faster for those people who are constantly scared due to constant cortisol flow. These people are private contractors working under Federal contracts and they will even move into the neighborhood near the victim, as close as they can get. Also they are schedulers and may have backgrounds in procurement and scheduling as they are like an octopus on the phone calling stalkers or asking favors of business people and workers where the TI goes. They are sociopathic and somehow do not see any downside to the work they have chosen for themselves. Sociopaths are never sorry for anything and have little or no empathy. Many of these people chose this work because they like it and may be malignant sadistic narcissists who enjoy hurting people. Of course they are not wrong for doing this work because they are doing it and they are never wrong. Then too, they could believe they are being patriotic because it is generally believed that they get to display national security letters to people whom the targeted individual interacts with in the hopes of eliciting a helping hand with their torture. According to the
Stanley Milgram experiment, 66% of the people will follow orders and injure someone if a credible authority figure says to. This explains why the German death camp guards followed the leader.