Criminal Behavior and the Pre-Victimization Process: Three Studies on Neutralization, Redefinition, and Desensitization (From Advances in Psychology and Law, P 65-76, 1997, Santiago Redondo and Vicente Garrido, et al., eds. -- See NCJ-175532)

• NCJ Number: 175533
• Author(s): F W Winkel
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: Walter de Gruyter & Co
• Language: English
• Country: Germany (Unified)

Annotation

After clarifying offenders' pre-victimization mental processes, this paper reports on three empirical studies that explored aspects of this process in more detail.

Abstract

Moral restraint theory suggests that persons will commit crimes in the absence of moral restraints to do so, or if they have learned to overcome these inhibitors. An excess of definitions favorable to violating the law would thus typify persons committing crimes (Sutherland and Cressey, 1960). Parallel to this theoretical position, Fattah (1991) contends that persons committing crimes go through a particular set of mental operations prior to committing a crime, which he refers to as the pre-victimization process. This paper presents the methodologies and findings of three empirical studies that have explored aspects of this process. Study 1 focused on the constituting processes of neutralization, redefinition/auto legitimation, and desensitization. Studies 2 and 3 involved strategies to change these processes. Study 2 considered the effectiveness of a specific alternative sanction called the "focusing on victims program," and study 3 compared the effectiveness of a victim-focused versus a perpetrator-focused strategy. The theoretical model outlined here suggests that persons committing crimes go through a particular victim-related set of cognitive operations before committing a crime. Study 1 documented a positive association between crime orientation (a self-report measure of criminal behavior) and various aspects of the pre-victimization process. Crime orientation was positively related to denying, ignoring, or minimizing the adverse consequences of criminal behavior for victims. Study 2 showed that juvenile delinquents can be made more aware of adverse consequences for victims through an alternative sanction program. Study 3 offered some experimental evidence that a victim-focused strategy will be more effective than the "traditional" perpetrator-focused strategy. Thus, victim-focused efforts apparently make a difference. 2 tables, 2 figures, and 9 references