Victimology Flashcards
Christie - concept of a victim
Christie (1986) that the concept of a “Victim” is a social construction. The stereotype of the “ideal victim” favoured by the media, public and criminal justice system is weak, innocent and blames individuals. Such as the elderly or a small child who is the target of a stranger’s attack.
British Crime Survey - repeat victimisation
According to the BCS 4% of the population are victims of 44% of the crime committed in any given year.
Hans von Henting - victim characteristics
Hans Von Hentig (1948) identified 13 characteristics of victims.
1 young
2 females
3 old
4 immigrants
5 depressed
6 mentally defective/deranged
7 the acquisitive Interested in getting things
8 dull normal - IQ between normal and mentally defective
9 minorities
10 wanton - sexually unrestrained
11 lonely and heartbroken
12 tormentor
13 the block, exempted and fighting
Wolfgang - victim precipitation
Marvin Wolfgang (1958) conducted a study of 588 homicides in Philadelphia. He found that 26% of homicides involved Victim Precipitation – the victim triggered the events leading to the homicide.
Tombs and Whyte - safety crimes
Show that “safety crimes” where employers’ violations of the law are explained away as the fault of the employee because they are “Accident prone”. They note the ideological function of this “Failure to label”. By concealing the true extent of victimisation and its real causes, it hides the crimes of the powerful and denies the powerless victims redress. In the hierarchy of victimisation the powerless are most likely to be victimised, yet least likely to have this acknowledged by the state.
Pynoos et al. - indirect victims
Crime may also create ‘indirect’ victims, such as friends, relatives, witnesses to the crime. For example, Pynoos et al (1987) found child witnesses of a sniper attack that continued to have grief-related dreams and altered behaviour years after the event.
