Introduction to Criminology - Understanding Victims Flashcards
What is a victim?
Someone who has suffered sometime, willingly, sometimes not, as a result of forces more powerful than themselves.
Person’s who, individually or collectively have suffered harm including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal law operative.
What is the Victims Code according to the Ministry of Justice 2020:3?
A person who has suffered harm, including physical, mental or emotional harm or economic loss which was directly caused by a criminal offence.
A close relative of a person whose death was directly caused by a criminal offence.
How do you recive rights under the code?
- A parent or gaurdian of the victim, if the victim is under 18 years old
- A nominated family member if the victim has a mental impairment or has been so badly injured because of a criminal offence that they are unable to communicate or lacks the capacity to do so.
Whats the difference between Victim and Survivor?
Being recognise as a rape survivor has sometimes been presented as a straight line from the negative state of victimisation experienced in the presence of the offender, through to the more positive state of survivor. Potentenially this creates an impression of the victimisation and its impact on past experience.
How do you identify victims of crime?
Direct Victim - The person who experienced the crime. Case, et al., 2021
Indirect Victim - Crime that impacts an organisation, an offender as a victim of crime e.g illegal drug use.
Actual Victim - The person who has been directly affected by the criminal offense.
Rejected Victim - They see themselves as victims but others don’t
Designated Victim - Labelled the victim even if the individual doesn’t see themselves as one.
Non-Victim - Nor you or anyone sees you as a victim
Ideal Victim - Nils Christie (1986)
‘being a victim is not a thing, an objective phenomenon. It will not be the same to all people in situations externally described as being the same’
What is an ideal victim perceived as?
- Weaker than the offender
- Undertaking daily activities
- Blameless
- Unknown to the offender
- Has suffered
- Doesn’t threaten accepted norms and values
How many victims of crime were ther according the office of national statistics, 2024?
Estimated of 8.8million incidents of headline crimes in the year ending March 2024.
- fraud decreased by 10%
- Computer misuse increased by 37%
- Theft remained stable but theft from the person increased by 40%
- Homicide remains stable
- Knives or sharp instrument offenses increased by 4%
- Firearms increased 4%
- Robbery increased 8%
- Shoplifting increased 30%
What are the issues of victims experiences?
Key among the findings was victim dissatisfaction with how police handled their case. This cut across all victim groups, with a common feeling that police weren’t actively pursuing leads or taking their case seriously. This, coupled with a lack of communication and engagement throughout the investigation, left victims feeling unsupported and frustrated during difficult time.
How was the victim experience issues addressed?
The Victims Code - no accountability, 60% of victims were not receiving their rights.
The Victim and Prisoners Act, 2024-
- Gave necessary provisions that prove agencies are helping victims
- Provide victims with specialist supports
- Extended the code to support victims of crimes that weren’t previously covered by the code.
How any parts of the code are there? What are they?
12
1. RIght to be understood and understand
2. Right to have details recorded
3. Right to support
4. Right to be informed
5.Right to make a personal statement
6. Right to be informed about the trial
7. Right to be informed about the outcome
8. Right to be paid expenses
9. Right to be informed about the offender
10. Right to make a complaint
11. Right to be treated with respect
12. Right to make informed choices
How should victim support be improved?
- Information and communication
- Procedural justice
- Multi-agency working
- Professionalisation of victims’ services.
