NCJ Number
208339
Journal
Criminology Volume: 42 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2004 Pages: 861-909
Date Published
November 2004
Length
49 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of victim self protection (SP) actions on outcomes of criminal incidents.
Abstract
In recent years researchers have become interested in discovering how victim reactions to criminal incidents impact the outcome of those incidents. Unfortunately, some of this research has been seriously methodologically flawed and results have been highly inconsistent. The current study drew on data concerning 27,595 personal contact crime incidents recorded in the National Crime Victimization Survey to analyze the impact of 16 types of victim SP actions on 3 types of incident outcomes. Data analyzed for the study were collected during the time period 1992 through 2001 and included 5 types of crimes: sexual assaults, robberies, assaults, personal contact larcenies, and confrontational burglaries. Results of statistical analyses indicated that both forceful and nonforceful types of victim SP reduced the risk of property loss and injury when compared to victim nonresistance. Victim SP tactics involving greater force, such as the use of a gun, had the greatest impact on injury risk reduction. The authors caution that some of the findings regarding forceful SP tactics were unstable due to small sample sizes. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research findings that have found victim SP resulted in greater victim injury. While future research should continue to probe the outcomes of various types of victim resistance, the current analysis suggests that victim resistance to crimes is an advisable strategy. Tables, references