Victims and Victimization

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Chapter 3
Victims and Victimization
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Problems of Crime Victims

• Victimization costs include damaged property,
  pain and suffering, and the involvement of police
  and other agencies of the justice system

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Problems of Crime Victims

• Website link
• http//www.ncvc.org/ncvc

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Problems of Crime Victims

• Economic Loss
• Problems of Crime Victims
• Violent crime by juveniles costs 158 billion per
  year
• Total economic costs of crime amounts to 450
  billion annually
• The costs of crime for each U.S. citizen is
  1,800 annually
• Victims suffer long term losses in earnings and
  occupational attainment
• Research suggests crime victims during
  adolescence earn about 82,000 less than
  nonvictims

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Problems of Crime Victims

• System Abuse
• Callous handling of victims by police
• Holding of personal property for evidence
• Rape victims report feeling re-raped
• Economic hardships due to trials

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Problems of Crime Victims

• Long Term Stress
• Posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD)
• Lowering of self-esteem
• Increased risk of suicide
• Eating disorders
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
• Victimization lead to some people feeling timid
  and cautious
• Fear of a repeat attack
• Suffer psychological stress for longer periods of
  time

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Problems of Crime Victims

• Antisocial Behavior
• Victims are more likely to commit crimes
  themselves
• Being abused increases the odds of one being
  arrested (cycle of violence)
• Both males and females are affected by the cycle
  of violence

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The Nature of Victimization

• Crime rates have been declining
• The violent victimization rate decreased 54
  percent
• The property crime victimization rate decreased
  50 percent

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Figure 3.1 Declining Crime Rates, 1973-2003
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Figure 3.2 Violent Crime Victimization Rates,
1973-2003
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Figure 3.3 Property Crime Victimization Rates,
1973-2003
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The Nature of Victimization

• The social ecology of victimization
• Violent crimes are more likely to occur in open
  public areas during daytime or early evening
  hours
• Almost two-thirds of more serious crimes such as
  rape occur after 6 P.M.
• Inner-city inhabitants have a greater chance of
  being victimized than suburbanites

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The Nature of Victimization

• The Victims Household
• Larger, African American, Western, and urban
  homes are the most vulnerable to crime
• Recent declines in victimization may be explained
  by smaller households in less populated areas due
  to movement from urban areas

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The Nature of Victimization

• Victim Characteristics
• Gender
• Males are more likely to be victims of violent
  crime than females, except for rape and sexual
  assault
• Females are more likely to be victimized by
  someone they know, whereas males are more likely
  to be victimized by strangers
• Age
• Young people are more at risk of victimization
  than older people
• People over 65 only account for 1 percent of
  violent victimizations (most being frauds and
  scams)

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Figure 3.4 Violent Crime Rates by Age of Victim
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The Nature of Victimization

• Social Status
• Poor people are more likely to experience violent
  and property crime
• The wealthy are more likely to be targets of
  personal theft crimes

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The Nature of Victimization

• Marital Status
• Never-married people are more likely to be
  victimized than married people
• Widows and widowers have the lowest victimization
  rate

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CNN Clip - Anti-Immigrant House Bombing
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The Nature of Victimization

• Race and Ethnicity
• African Americans more likely to be victims of
  violent crime than European Americans
• Minorities experience income inequality in
  greater number than European Americans

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Figure 3.5 Violent Crime Rates by Race of Victim
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The Nature of Victimization

• Repeat Victimization
• Individuals who have been a crime victim have a
  significantly higher chance of future
  victimization
• Characteristics which increase potential for
  victimization
• Target vulnerability
• Target gratifiability
• Target antagonism

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The Nature of Victimization

• The Victims and Their Criminals
• Males are more likely to be violently victimized
  by a stranger
• Females are more likely to be victimized by a
  friend or intimate
• Crime is intraracial Blacks victimize Blacks and
  Whites victimize Whites
• Substance abuse is involved in about one-third of
  violent crime incidents
• Women are more likely to be both robbed and raped
  by known acquaintances

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Theories of Victimization

• Victim Precipitation Theory some people may
  actually initiate the confrontation that leads to
  their injury or death.
• Active precipitation victim acts provocatively
  (Menachem Amir 1971)
• Passive precipitation occurs when victim
  exhibits some personal characteristics that
  unknowingly either threatens or encourages the
  attacker.

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Theories of Victimization

• Lifestyle Theory certain lifestyles increase
  exposure to criminal offenders.
• Being in a public place late at night
• Living in an urban area
• High-risk lifestyles (i.e. drinking, drug using)
• Criminal lifestyle such as carrying weapons and
  belonging to gangs

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Theories of Victimization

• Deviant Place Theory
• Victim prone to victimization because one resides
  in a socially disorganized high-crime area
• The more often victims visit dangerous places,
  the more likely they will be exposed to crime and
  violence
• Deviant places include poor densely populated
  areas, highly transient neighborhoods and
  commercial areas with residential property in
  close proximity
• William Julius Wilson suggests White residents
  flee high-crime areas, leaving racial minorities
  behind to suffer high victimization rates

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Theories of Victimization

• Routine Activity Theory
• Victimization results from the interaction of
  everyday factors
• Availability of suitable targets
• Absence of capable guardians
• Presence of motivated offenders
• People who live in hot spots elevate their
  chances of victimization
• Some criminologists suggest moral guardianship
  might cause some people to refrain from crime if
  they are bonded with conventional attitudes (peer
  rejection)
• Ronald Clarke contends the relationship among
  opportunity, routine activities, and
  environmental factors increases victimization
  potential

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Figure 3.6 Routine Activities Theory
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Figure 3.7 The Opportunity Structure of Crime
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Caring for the Victim

• Victimization surveys indicate almost every
  American will become a victim of a common law
  crime
• Helping the victim cope is the responsibility of
  all of society

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Caring for the Victim

• The Governments Response
• Task Force on Victims of Crime created in 1982
  to provide recommendations for victim assistance
• In 1984 The Comprehensive Crime Control Act and
  the Victims of Crime Act authorized federal
  funding for state victim compensation

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Caring for the Victim

• Victim Service Programs
• An estimated 2,000 victim-witness assistance
  programs have been developed
• Victim compensation to pay for damages
  associated with crime (100 to 15,000)
• Court services to help prepare victims and
  witnesses for court testimony
• Public education to familiarize the general
  public with primary prevention programs
• Crisis intervention Networks of social service
  agencies to provide emergency and long term
  assistance
• Victim-offender reconciliation programs use of
  mediators for face-to-face encounters between
  victims and perpetrators
• Victim impact statements allows victims the
  opportunity to describe their ordeal

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Caring for the Victim

• Victims Rights
• Legal scholars have suggested crime victims have
  legal rights and society is obliged to ensure
  basic rights for law-abiding citizens
• Thirty-three states have added victims rights
  amendments to their constitutions
• A national Constitutional Amendment has been
  debated but has not yet passed Congress
• In 2004, the Senate passed S.2329 a bill to
  provide rights to federal victims of crime, which
  does not change the Constitution

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Caring for the Victim

• Victim Advocacy
• Advocates provide assistance to crime victims by
  interacting with police, courts, and legal aid
• Advocates may assist in the writing of victim
  statements for various legal proceedings such as
  sentencing and probation/parole hearings.
• Advocates may interact with media trying to
  ensure reporting is accurate and that privacy is
  not violated

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Caring for the Victim

• Self-Protection
• Target hardening involves making ones home and
  business crime proof
• Use of fences, guards, surveillance cameras,
  window bars, warning signs, and dogs
• Gary Kleck suggests armed victims kill between
  1,500 and 2,800 potential felons each year

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Caring for the Victim

• Community Organization
• Neighborhood watch programs
• Community newsletters
• Home security surveys
• Lighting projects