Week Twenty Five - What is a victim and the ideal victim? Flashcards
What is a Victim?
An invisible part of the Criminal Justice System
Since early 19th Century: neglect, insensitivity and distrust
Persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm (physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss, substantial impairment of their fundamental right
Regardless of whether offender is identified
, arrested, charged, convicted, sentenced
Who is an ideal victim?
Weak in relation to the offender - female, ill, very old/young
Acting virtuously or in a legitimate way
Blameless
Does not know the stranger
Offended is big/ bad
Sucessfully elicits victim status
Offenders and victims seen as separate groups
However, criminals are more frequently victimised than non- criminals
Six key factors in rising public profile of victims…
Interests of victims championed by reformers
Mass media highlighting plight of victims
Increasing recognition (since 1960s) of particular vulnerable groups
High profile cases of domestic and foreign political violence
Increasing knowledge through victimisation surveys
Academic criminology/ victimology
Victims ‘movement’
Worldwide impact of victims movement of CJS - state funded compensation schemes - compensation of victim by offender
Introduction of Criminal Injuries Compensation
Needs of victims first formally recognised
CJC Authority 1995
Injuries banded by severity related to payout
Uses ‘innocent victim model’ (award can be refused/ reduced
Idealised view of victims status
Links to ‘blame’ , not just re. Incident but broader ‘moral worth’
Court Ordered Compensation…
Criminal justice act 1972
General power for courts to order offenders to pay compensation for loss, damage or personal injury resulting from criminal offence
I’m practice, only a , minority of victims recurve compensation via the court system, or the criminal injuries compensation authority
The two systems mainly cover different offences, involve different levels of finance and different criteria
Approaches to Victimology
Positivist - patterns of victimisation and how related to crime prevention/ reduction initiatives (driven by routine activities theory)
Radical - how structural inequalities influence the distribution of victimisation - we are not all uniform ally vulnerable. Too focuses on class over age, gender and ethnicity differences
Critical - becoming a victim through application of the label (drawing on labelling theory)
Approaches to Victimology
Positivist - patterns of victimisation and how related to crime prevention/ reduction initiatives (driven by routine activities theory)
Radical - how structural inequalities influence the distribution of victimisation - we are not all uniform ally vulnerable. Too focuses on class over age, gender and ethnicity differences
Critical - becoming a victim through application of the label (drawing on labelling theory)
Sparks Typology…
Six types of Victim- proneness
Precipitation - one may encourage their own victimisation
Facilitation - putting oneself at risk of Crime (e.g. Not locking door, leaving valuables of display)
Vulnerability - physical attributes increasing risk
Opportunity - e.g. Possessions
Attractiveness - e.g displays of wealth
Impunity - an easy target - won’t complain/ report to the police or seek revenge
But this plays too little attention to structural circumstances and too much to individual choices/events
Vulnerability..
The concept of vulnerability
The Homeless are probably the most vulnerable group in our society
Also largely invisible and not included in household surveys such as the BCS
Survey of 300 homeless people in London, Oxford and Cambridge found that ⅔ had experience theft in the last year compared with 1% of general population and half had experiences threats and or violence compared with 4% in British crime survey
Impact…
Physical Behavioural Emotional and Psychological Financial Also indirect victims - links to fear of crime or it is worry or anger
Varies considerably between individuals linked to the concept on resilience
Rebalancing the CJS
Rebalancing the cjs in favour of victims, witnesses and communities
New code of practice for victims of crime ; commissioner for victims and witnesses
Still much to do
Hate crime…
Hate crime takes many forms; psychical attack, threat of attack and verbal abuse
Term coined in the late 1980s - focuses on psyche of the Criminal rather than the criminals conduct
Confusingly crimes do not need to be motivated by hatred to qualify
Social inequality is at the heart of hate crime - mechanism of oppression and power, directed at already marginalised groups
Difficult to define but Crime grouped together because the victim was selected because of who they are - ethnicity, sexuality religion
Most vulnerable are - elderly, homeless, gypsies and travellers sex workers etc
Crime and disorder act 1998 made provisions
Cyber bullying - new forum for hate
Harms of hate - Leicester hate crime project
Local organisations…
The Jenkins Centre - provides interventions in Leicester to help people end their use of abusive behaviour in relationships
Women’s aid Leicestershire - helpline, outreach , refuge and more
Ending Victimisation and Blame - Nottingham - a campaign to challenge the institutional belief around domestic violence and abuse
Victim support
