Crime Victims: An Introduction to Victimology Sixth Edition

1
Crime Victims An Introduction to
VictimologySixth Edition

• By Andrew Karmen
• Chapter One What is Victimology?

2
VICTIMOLOGY

• Scientific study of physical, emotional, and
  financial harm people suffer because of illegal
  activities.
• Included in this definition is the victimization
  occurring for victims within the criminal justice
  system.

3
Victimization

• Is an asymmetrical interpersonal relationship
  that is abusive, painful, destructive,
  parasitical, and unfair.
• Law forbids certain forms of victimizationoppres
  sive and exploitative actsbut not ALL types of
  harmful activities.

4
VICTIMOLOGY

• VictimsIndividuals who experience loss, injury,
  or hardship for any reason
• Crime VictimsAbove as result of an illegal act
• Direct/PrimaryExperiences criminal act and its
  consequences first hand
• Indirect/SecondaryFamily and those who suffer
  emotionally or financially but are not
  immediately involved or physically injured

5
Studying of Victimization Scientifically

• Subjective Approach
• Issues are approached from standpoint of
  morality, ethics, philosophy, personalized
  reactions, and emotions
• Objective Approach
• Requires observer to be fair, open-minded,
  even-handed, dispassionate, neutral, and unbiased

6
Studying of Victimization Scientifically

• Why should victimologists NOT be pro-victim?
• Ideal Victim person who suffered harm was
  weaker than aggressor, acting virtuously or not
  looking for trouble or breaking any laws, and
  wrongdoer was a stranger acting illegally and was
  unprovoked

7
Victims or Offenders?

• Who is the victim and who is the offender?
• Not always clear cutconsider the following
• Subway Vigilante
• Menendez Brothers
• Bobicks

8
Criminals as Victims

• Predatory persons prey on each other
• Organized crime takes out a contract
• Drive-by shooting between two gangs
• Drug deal gone bad

9
Cycle of Violence

• Cycle of violence over time can transform a
  victim(s) into victimizer(s)
• Group of picked on students may gang up against
  the bully
• Battered wife may launch a vengeful attack
  against husband
• Convicts much more likely to have been abused
  physically or sexually as children
• Violence Begets Violence

10
Victims vs. Good Guys

• Victimologists do not limit their studies to
  clashes between victims and offenders
• They also consider the social reaction to
  victimization
• Victims outraged by media coveragesensationalism
• Investigation of charges in high profile cases
  require victimologists to be detached and
  disinterested in carrying out analysis

11
Victimologys Undeserved Bad Reputation

• Victimology during the 90s and into the twentieth
  century has become to many a dirty word.
• (Paglia, 1993) A critic of contemporary feminism
  declared on national TV, I hate victimology. I
  despise a victim-centered view of the universe

12
Victimologys Undeserved Bad Reputation

• (Leo, 1994) a news magazine commentator
  complained, We are deep into the era of the
  abuse excuse. The doctrine of victimologyclaimin
  g victim status means you are not responsible for
  your actionsis beginning to warp the legal
  system.
• An author of a book about race relations called a
  well-known preacher who is a civil rights
  activist a professional Victimologist.
  (Dreher, 2001)

13
Victimologys Undeserved Bad Reputation

• (Harrop, 2003) A review of a book noted, The art
  of victimology requires three easy steps (1)
  Identify a group suffering from real or perceived
  injustices (2) Exaggerate the problem (3) Blame
  the problem on a group you dont like.
  Conservatives have long condemned the
  victimology industry as a racket, especially
  when practiced by women and minorities.

14
Victimologys Undeserved Bad Reputation

• Victimology is a new academic discipline that
  only means the study of victims
• It is focused on the research about people harmed
  by criminals
• It does not impose a partisan point of view or a
  set or predictably biased conclusions
• The ideology of victimism is a coherent,
  integrated set of beliefs that shapes
  interpretations and leads to political action
• Do not confuse victimism with victimology

15
Victimologys Undeserved Bad Reputation

• Victimological research must tell the whole truth
  regardless of who is disappointed or insulted
• Three types of biases undermine the ability of
  any social scientist to achieve objectivityThey
  include

16
Three Types of Bias

• 1. May arise from personal experience, taking
  the form of individual preferences and prejudices
• 2. Derives from the history of the discipline
  itself
• Pioneers in the study of victimology first
  introduced the concept of victim-blaming
• Today, majority of victimologists are pro-victim

17
Three Types of Bias

• A subtle bias traced back to the mood of the
  times
• 60s-70s a demand for government to devise ways
  to help victims get back on their feet
  financially, medically, and emotionally
• 80s a theme of self-reliance and a reduction in
  government social spending and tax cutting gained
  popularity

18
The Origins of Victimology

• Box 1.1, Page 14, provides highlights in the
  brief history of Victimology and Victim
  Assistance
• Significant gains in the United States when the
  Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and the
  Administration of Justice urged criminologists to
  pay more attention to victims

19
The Origins of Victimology

• By the 70s victimology became a recognized field
  of study
• By 1990, 240 colleges and universities offered
  courses in victimology
• Most states passed crime victim rights amendments
  to their state constitution
• 2004Congress enacts the Crime Victims Rights
  Act which provides for fair treatment and
  opportunities for input in federal court
  proceedings

20
Victimology vs. Criminology

• Victimology is best viewed as an area of
  specialization within criminology
• Criminology embraces the scientific study of
  crimes, criminals, criminal laws and the justice
  system, societal reactions, and crime victims

21
Victimology vs. Criminology

• Criminologists ask why certain individuals become
  involved in lawbreaking while others do not
• Victimologists ask why some individuals,
  households, and entities are targeted while
  others are not, and why over and over again

22
Victimology vs. Criminology

• Criminologists apply their findings to devise
  crime prevention strategies
• Victimologists use patterns and trends to develop
  victimization prevention strategies and
  risk-reduction tactics
• Both criminologists and victimologists study how
  the criminal justice system actually works versus
  how it is supposed to work

23
Victimology vs.. Criminology

• Boundaries
• Boundaries are clear cut for Criminology
• Boundaries for Victimology still unclear
• Overlap due to lack of boundaries
• Crime rates vs. victimization rates

24
Divisions Within The Discipline

• Political ideologies shape policy
  recommendations
• Conservative
• Liberal
• Radical

25
Divisions Within The Discipline

• Conservative Influence
• Focuses on basically street crimes
• Everyone to be held accountable for their
  decisions and actions
• Emphasis on self reliance, NOT government
• Individual responsibility for preventing,
  avoiding, resisting and recovering from criminal
  acts
• Strictly punish offenders on behalf of their
  victims

26
Divisions Within The Discipline

• Liberal Influence
• Scope of field to extend beyond street crimes
• Endorse government intervention
• Extend safety net mechanisms for all kinds of
  misfortunes
• Look to wrongdoers repaying their victims to
  allow for reconciliation

27
Divisions Within The Discipline

• Radical/Critical/Conflict Influence
• Victimization is a result of oppressive social
  system
• Scope of the field to include
• industrial polluters, hazardous workplaces,
  fraudulent advertisers, brutally violent law
  enforcement agencies, poverty, malnutrition,
  family dysfunction, unemployment and substance
  abuse these are social problems of which the CJ
  system is part of the problem

28
What Victimologists Do

• Victimologists explore the interactions between
  victims and offenders, victims and the criminal
  justice system, and victims and society
• Four step process victimologists follow when
  carrying out their research

29
What Victimologists Do

• Step 1 Identify, Define, and Describe the
  Problem
• Step 2 Measure the True Dimensions of the
  Problem
• Step 3 Investigate How Victims Are Handled
• Step 4 Gather Evidence to Test Hypotheses

30
Chapter One Key Terms