Criminology/Module 3

Victiminology

Victims of a crime may incur economic losses, the criminal justice system as "abusive" or "unfair", stress, fear, and/or anti-social behavior.

Victim crimes, surprisingly, usually take place in open & public areas. Males are more likely to be victims of crime, and of crimes from strangers. In the US, AA, western/urban homes are most likely to be a victim of crime. Young people and the poor are most likely to be victims of crime.

The following characteristics increase the potential for someone becoming a victim of a crime:

Target vulnerability
Target gratifiability
Target antagonism

Victim precipitation theory theorizes that some people may "begin" the victimization process (by initiating conflict), either actively or passively. Lifestyles may put one in this situation (life-style theory), or visiting dangerous areas increases this (deviant place theory). Routine activities theory states that if there is a motivated criminal, a place of opportunity, and a lack of protection - crime will arise.

Care for Victims

Omnibus Victim & Witness Protection Act - Victim impact statements can be used in a federal criminal case.
The Comprehensive Crime Control Act & Victims of Crime Act - Fund state victim compensation and assistance projects. Money taken from fines and penalties from criminals, and used for court services, public education, and crisis intervention. Reconciliation between the victim and offender programs have existed too. Self-protection is increasing.

Victiminology is the study of victims, victimologists focus on victims of crimes (but they are still considered criminologists). Losses for victims could be damaged property, mental health deterioration, medicals losts/bad wages, a lot of fear, and long-term therapy.

Did you know that an avg. murder costs $9 million?

PTSD

PTSD: Condition where one experiences depression, anxiety, and behavior that harms oneself - this is usually when a victim does not recieve support from a traumatic event.

Vicarious fear is when someone is exposed to violence on a daily, set basis, and they become fearful because of it.

Even though most victims do not commit crimes automatically because they've been abused in the past (physical/sexual abuse), it does increase the chances. The two important factors for likelihood to be violent is being a victim of physical abuse and being exposed to violence earlier on.

The 4 explanations are as follows:

Victimization leads to social problems.
Victimization leads to stress and anger.
Victimization leads to revenge (possibly just a natural coincidence and not the cause; it could be the summertime is the reason behind crimes instead of the desire for revenge).

Social Ecology

Social ecology: The social/behavioral consequences of humans and their environment interacting with each other, regarding crime.

Factors include:

Location: Open, public areas are more suspectible to crime.
Time: Serious crimes after 6, less serious crimes during the daytime.
Neighborhood characteristics: Central city is the location for theft/violence vs. subruban areas; murder takes place in disorganized inner-city areas (slums of a major city).
School: Before/after where little-no adult supervision is present; valuables unprotected are attractive.

Black/western/urban > [crime than] rural/white/northeastern homes

Victim Characteristics

Age & gender --> most powerful indicator, except rape/sexual assault. 1/2+ nonfatal personal crimes / 6/10 victims of rape/sexual assault are down by known persons.

Younger people face greater victimization risk compared to older people. Victim risk decreases considerably >age 25, though this may be reversed when one becomes elderly.

As noted before, target vulnerability (physical/mental weakness of the victim), target gratifiability (offender wants something from the victim), and target antagonism (victm triggered the offender).

Victim Precipitations

Some people may start a conflict, that may result in their own demise (think murders in the self-defense). This can be active (victim is an active threat) or passive (victim is a threat, unbeknowst to the victim).

Being a risk taker increases your risk of becoming a victim of crime.

Lifestyle theory

The riskier your life, the increased chances you'll fall into criminal mischief.

Deviant place theory

Victims --> victim-prone because they live in socially disorganized high-crime areas.

Routine Activities

Cohen & Felson: Volume and distribution of predatory crime relates to the interaction of three variables:

Availability of suitable targets
Absence of capable guardians
Presence of motivated criminals

Crime increases as location shifts from rural --> urban. Crime rates increased as more women joined the workforce.

Both lifestyle & deviant place theory rely on closeness to criminals, its exposure, how attractive the victim is, and guardianship. People increase their risk of being victims if...

Out in high-crime areas.
Going out late at night
Carrying visible valuables
Doing risky stuff
Without authority figures

The Task Force

Reagan's Task Force on Victims of Crime did the following:

Balance the victim's rights alongside with the defendant's right for due process.
Giving victims and witnesses protection from harassment/intimidation
Requiring restitution for criminal cases
Develop guidelines for proper treatment of victims and witnesses
Expand compensation programs for victims.

Congress also passed the Omnibus Victim and Witness Protection Act. Requires victim impact statements during federal criminal case sentencing + protection for witnesses, tougher bail laws, and restitution.

Also passed was the Comprehensive Crime Control Act and Victims of Crime Act (1984) - authorized federal funding for state victim compensation programs and their sister assistance projects.

Victim Advocates

The Victim of Crime Act (VOCA, 1984) gives money to states for funding of rape and domestic violence victims.

Victim advocates help the victims through court advocates (explanation behind being a witness, how a bail works, and what to di in the case of a defendant acting belligerent), transportation, victim counseling, and psychological support.

Funding goes to public education, crisis interventions, Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs (VORP), and victim impact statements.

Victim Care

More preventive than reactive. Victims could use self-defense, but this can prove to still result in harmful consequences (harm to the victim, offender may go back to violence). Block watches, neighborhood patrols, and CCTV cameras can also deter crimes.

Legal rights for victims exist in every state (victims' Bill of Rights), which include:

Notification of proceedings & status of the defendant.
Victims are present at criminal justice proceedings
Make a statement at sentencing and to receive restitution from a convicted offender.
Consultation before a case is dismissed/plea arrangment has been enacted.
Speedy trial
Confidentiality