NCJ Number
113010
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1988) Pages: 72-80
Date Published
1988
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Up to a few years ago, victims of crime could hardly expect society to pay much attention to their plight; in fact, they constituted a forgotten group.
Abstract
Just recently, interest in them has waxed significantly. In this contribution, we first offer a brief survey of recent developments regarding the theme of various types of victimization. Next, we focus upon the police with respect to victims, especially the task of providing information. We advocate that, as an alternative to current policy, repeat contact be introduced. This would mean that part of the information is provided when the crime is reported, and that further information is given a few days later, when a police officer pays the victim a visit. We elucidate the model's usefulness and its theoretical principles with the help of an experimental evaluation study. Finally, we describe the application of the model in training programs for inexperienced members of the police force. (Publisher abstract)