Teaching Victims To Reduce Their Vulnerability to Crime: A New Role for Victim Counselors

• NCJ Number: 116575
• Author(s): R C Davis; B E Smith; U Bauer
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 63 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Victim Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study tested the proposition that people can be taught principles of crime prevention in a short time period by teachers who are neither crime prevention professionals nor law enforcement personnel.

Abstract

The sample selected for the experiment consisted of persons who had been recent crime victims. A total of 113 recent victims of robbery, assault, and burglary were given a single session of crime prevention training combined with crisis counseling. Victims also received security surveys and free installation of protective hardware when needed. These victims were compared to 78 victims who received crisis counseling but no crime prevention training. The same counselors were used with both groups. Relative to controls, victims who received crime prevention training showed greater knowledge of crime prevention, greater adoption of home security measures, a greater increase in precautionary behaviors, and a greater tendency to believe that their victimization could have been avoided when tested several weeks after the counseling session. No differences were observed between the groups regarding fear of crime or post-traumatic stress. 3 figures, 2 tables, appended detailed project methodology. (Author abstract modified)