NCJ Number
93293
Date Published
1983
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Deviants are both similar to and different from other crime victims.
Abstract
Deviants probably have crime reporting rates which are lower than for the general population, because they are engaged in unlawful activities and are often leading a marginal existence. Prostitutes, addicts, homosexuals, ex-mental patients, prisoners, and cult members probably suffer more than their proportional share of thefts, robberies, and beatings as compared with their nondeviant counterparts. Deviants are probably more susceptible than the general population to predatory street crimes, because they are viewed as weaker and because their lifestyle may expose them to more opportunities for victimization. Much victimization of deviants occurs at the hands of other deviants. The most dramatic examples of intradeviant victimization are those which result from the strained relationships between drug addicts and their suppliers and between prostitutes and their pimps. Victimized deviants also receive the worst services of all groups from the police and prosecutors to whom they turn for help in the pursuit of justice. The inadequacies of the response of the criminal justice system have led victim groups, including some deviant groups, to organize on their own behalf. They have set up alternative institutions and support groups and have mobilized to change laws and criminal justice agency procedures. Organizing in their own behalf is probably the only way deviants can reduce the impact of criminal attack and societal neglect. Forty references are listed.