NCJ Number
150424
Date Published
1991
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This chapter explores the new interest in crime victims: statistics revealing patterns and trends in victimization, analyses of victim-offender relationships, efforts to prevent victimization, methods of reimbursing losses, campaigns to secure additional rights, and alternative ways to respond to victimization.
Abstract
Following a review of sources of data for measuring victimization, the chapter examines victim reporting rates for various types of crime; the most underreported crimes are those committed by persons known to the victims, particularly family members. A discussion of victimization risks focuses on patterns of differential risks, the estimation of lifetime likelihoods of victimization, and comparative risks of victimization. A discussion of the possibility of shared responsibility between an offender and a victim notes that the issue of fixing responsibility arises routinely at every stage of case processing; for example, judgments about the degree of shared responsibility for a brawl can influence the police officer's decision about whether to arrest just the victor or the injured party as well. A discussion of personal crime prevention strategies is followed by a section on victim reimbursement for injuries and losses incurred because of the crime. Reimbursement may come from restitution, civil lawsuits, and victim compensation programs. Remaining sections of the chapter discuss the campaign for greater victims' rights and victims' search for informal justice through dispute resolution mechanisms. 2 figures