NCJ Number
73955
Journal
Revue de science criminelle et de droit penal compare Issue: 3 Dated: (July-September 1980) Pages: 763-771
Date Published
1980
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Theoretical views on the role of the victim in the French penal process and general directions of research on victimology are discussed.
Abstract
This article reviews various models for the situation of the victim in the Anglo-Saxon system of common law as described in several studies. Discussed are the due process model in which the plaintiff and defendant confront each other and the state plays a secondary role in executing the decision, with seriousness of the crime as the major criterion for decisions; and the crime control model in which the state plays a primary role, neutralizing the criminal and furnishing social assistance to the victim. In the adversary-retribution model, the state furnishes the machinery for the victim to satisfy his claims. In the social-defense-welfare model the state takes the place of the victim in prosecuting the offender and of the offender in indemnifying the victim. The family model views the state as parents and the delinquent as the child to be reproached but not rejected. Other models are the conciliation model and the preventive model. However, none of these models are entirely satisfactory. The theories differ principally on whether they consider delinquents a legal abstraction of the enemy, placing the victim in the same abstract context, or whether they recognize human complexity, encouraging delinquents to compensate victims voluntarily and victims to aid in reintegration. Early studies on victimology considered personality factors contributing to victimization, victim responsibility, and crime reporting behavior. The interactionist movement has furthered the study of victims by shifting emphasis from the personality of the delinquent to the interactions among delinquents, victims, and society. Areas of present study include measurement of victimization; victimization effects upon the fear of crime, individual and collective; the role of the victim in all steps of the criminal justice system; and the gap between legal texts and practice in matters regarding victims. Efforts are underway to organize a victim hotline and to create a French office for victim assistance. Notes are supplied.