Victimization
Essay I
Victimization is in reference to being done by the justice system. It means that a victim of a crime is usually being mistreated in some form by a member of the justice system, medical or mental systems as well after a crime was reported. In some rape cases a victim is mistreated by the forensic analyists as well as the medical staff. The victim might also be treat as just another number when dealing with their cases and may be brushed off in a sense when they are trying to find out information on their cases. According to the text the nature and extent of victimization is not random and but is a function of personal and ecological factors. Because of the frequency of the crime occuring the crime reports can make an accurate judgement about the nature of victimization. On the national crime victimization survey in the passage of the text states, " They are asked to report on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimizations for such crimes as rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, theft, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft. "
There is usually a relationship between the victims and the offenders. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) Usually when a male is the victim in the crime the offender is unknown to them. However, when the victim of the crime is a female then the offender is most likely a husband, boyfriend, family member or aquaintence.
The First theory of victimization is called victim precipitation theory and in this view it is believed that people may be the cause of their own crimes whether it be active or passive. When an active percipitaion is happening the victim uses threats or fighting words to provoke an attack or in rape cases cause the verdict to be rendered as not guilty because the female may have construed to sexual intimacy. If a passive percipitation occurs this means that a person may have unknowingly provoked the attacker, for example, a man hits on a woman at a bar and unknowingly she is seeing someone who then becomes aware of the passes towards his significant other and then attacks the man. Passive percipitation may also happen if a person is involved in a group that threatens the attackers status. There is another theory called the lifestyle theory and this is used to describe when the way an individual lives may make them a criminal victim. For instance, living in an urban area, hanging out in a known drug trafficing area, with high crime rate late at night. This may make you a victim in may ways. One being the threat of violence, being taken as a drug dealer, maybe a drive by or walk up crime like robbery, arrested by the police for being in the area, fighting, and other dangerous crimes. According to the text, The basis of this theory is that crime is not a random occurence but rather a function of the victims lifestyle. Also in this theory there are the high-risk life styles, meaning that people who use and recreational drugs like MDMA and drink become involved in crimes more than individual who avoid such lifestyles. They are more likely to be an offender as well as a victim of the crime. They may become so intoxicated or high that they committ robbery or some other crime in order to feed their habits and become victims in the sense when they are drunk or high females have a higher percent of being raped because she is less likely to remember her attacker and in some cases that an attack even occured. Another Theory is the Deviant Place theory which means that regardless of the choices an individual makes they are still likely to be a victim of a crime because they live in areas that are socially disorganized and high crime areas. Theses areas are poverty stricken and densely populated. There is also the Routine Activities Theory. Routine activites theory states that the volume and distibution of violent crimes againsta person and crimes in which an offender attempts to steal and object directly are closely related to the interaction of three varibles that reflect the routine activities of typical American lifestyles. The three varibles are Suitable targets, motvatied offenders and capable gardians and the interaction of the three all lead to crime. When there are a lack of police officers, homeowners and security systems along with the motivated teenage boys who are unemployed and the addict population and then take unlocked homes, expensive cars and easily transported goods you will see that these factors combined lead to crime.
When you look at society;s responses to the victim's needs you will find that it could be better but people are taking an active stand for victims rights. All of society including law, medical human services and such ned to realize that human rights exsist for the victims of criminal behavior. The government established an office for victims of crime (OVC) to oversee diverse programs that benefit victims of crime. Victim Services Programs have also been developed to help individuals. There is the victim-witness assistance program that offers things like victim compensation which means that the state gives compensation to the victim's of crimes to help cover the cost of things like medical treatment, mental health and legal fees as well as any damages associated with the crime. There is a program called court services that helps a victim deal with the criminal justice system. There is Publice Education which involves teaching methods of conflict resolution safetly. Crisis intervention is another program which deals with helping victims deal with what has happend to them in a safe environment. Victim-offender reconcilliation programs give the chance for a victim to come face to face with the offender using mediation to reconcile the parties involved and come to negotiations about restitution agreements. There are Victims' rights programs and Victim advocacy which can help people interact with the agencies of justice. There are self protection plans that teach the general public how to become an active member in a community protection and citizen crime control groups. People learn to target harden meaning they learn how to make themselves less vulnerable and less likely to be preyed upon. People can use camera, signs dogs and other means within the law to protect themselves and there property.
