1. Chapter 3
Victims and Victimization

2. Problems of Crime Victims
 Victimization costs include: damaged property, pain and
suffering, and the involvement of police and other agencies of the
justice system

3. Problems of Crime Victims
• Website link:
http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. The Nature of Victimization
 Crime rates have been declining
 The violent victimization rate decreased 54 percent
 The property crime victimization rate decreased 50 percent

9. Figure 3.1 Declining Crime Rates, 1973-2003

10. Figure 3.2 Violent Crime Victimization Rates, 1973-2003

11. Figure 3.3 Property Crime Victimization Rates, 1973-2003

12. 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

13. The Nature of Victimization
• The Victim’s 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

14. 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)

15. Figure 3.4 Violent Crime Rates by Age of Victim

16. 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

17. 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

18. CNN Clip - Anti-Immigrant House Bombing

19. 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

20. Figure 3.5 Violent Crime Rates by Race of Victim

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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.

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. Figure 3.6 Routine Activities Theory

28. Figure 3.7 The Opportunity Structure of Crime

29. 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

30. Caring for the Victim
• The Government’s Response
 Task Force on Victim’s 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

31. 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

32. 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 victim’s 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

33. 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

34. Caring for the Victim
• Self-Protection
 Target hardening involves making one’s 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

35. Caring for the Victim
• Community Organization
 Neighborhood watch programs
 Community newsletters
 Home security surveys
 Lighting projects