NCJ Number
72739
Date Published
1979
Length
13 pages
Annotation
An overview of results from 30 years of research on victimology outlines the new perspectives gained in separate areas of victimology.
Abstract
Immediately after the Second World War the traditional emphasis on the offense and offender dominated so completely that the position of the victim was virtually ignored. The first victimological studies explored questions familiar in offender research, e.g., whether there are born victims. As the interest in victimology grew, the strategic role of the victim's attitudes and reporting behavior in selecting offenders became evident. Victim surveys have been essential to the development of victimology, as they facilitate correction of questionable police statistics and international comparison. Emphasis on the position of the victim has highlighted problems of violence and social inequality. In general, offender-victim relationships have remained unclear, although overlappings of offenders and victims among juveniles have been established. Particular difficulties have arisen in predicting which individuals are likely to become involved in accidents. Little attention has been devoted to research on mass crimes, on alcoholism, on extortion, on white-collar crime, on hostage-taking, and on pandering. Victim compensation and insurance protection against victimization cover individual losses of victims, but are not adequate to protect against future victimization. Instead, preventive efforts must be undertaken. Informal types of self-help (e.g., women's shelters, and groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous) can supplement formal measures of the state. The best protection of potential victims remains offender incapacitation. Notes and a 60-item bibliography are supplied.