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MODULE 5
VICTIMS AND OFFENDERS
INTRODUCTION

Victimology is the scientific study of victimization,

including the relationships between victims and offenders, the
interactions between victims and the criminal justice system –
that is, the police and courts, and corrections officials – and the
connections between victims and other societal groups and
institutions, such as the media, businesses and social
movements.

The concept of victim dates back to ancient cultures and

civilizations such as the ancient Hebrews. Its original meaning
was rooted in the idea of sacrifice or scapegoat – the execution Source ahttps://blog.ipleaders.in/victimology/
or casting out of a person or animal to satisfy a deity or
hierarchy. Over the centuries, the word came to have additional meaning during the
founding of victimology in the 1940s, Victimologist such as Benjamin Mendelsohn, Hans
Von Hentig, and Marvin Wolfgang tended to use textbooks or dictionary definitions of
victims as hapless dupes who instigated their own victimizations. This notion of “victim
precipitation” was vigorously attacked by feminists in the 1980s, and was replaced by
the notion of victims as anyone caught up in an asymmetric relationship or situation.

Over the years, idea about victim precipitation have come to be perceived as a
negative thing; “victim blaming” it is called. Research into ways in which victims
“contribute” to their own victimization is considered by victims and victim advocates both
unacceptable and destructive.

Asymmetry means anything unbalanced, exploitative, parasitical, oppressive,

and destructive, alienating, or having inherent suffering. In this view, victimology is all
about power differentials.

Today, the concept of victim includes any person who experiences any injury,
loss, or hardship due to any cause. Also today, the word victim is used rather
indiscriminately; e.g. cancer victims, holocaust victims, accident victims, victims of
injustice, hurricane victims, crime victims, and others. The thing that all these usages
have in common is an image of someone who has suffered injury and harm by forces
beyond his/her control.

Crime victim generally refers to any person, group, or entity who has suffered
injury or loss due to illegal activity. The harm can be physical, psychological, or
economic.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to…
 Recognize and understand the role of victims and
offenders in understanding crime phenomena.

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MOTIVATION QUESTION

STATE YOUR OPINION

1. Do victims “contribute” in their
victimization?
2. What is your stand in “victim blaming”?

GOALS OF VICTIMOLOGY
The study of victimology focuses on five goals:

1. To understand and measure the extent and nature of crime as victims perceive
them.
2. To assess the relative risk of victimization.
3. To appreciate the nature and extent of losses, injuries and damages experienced
by victims of crime.
4. To study the relation between the victim and offender.
5. To investigate the social reaction of the family, community, and society toward
the victim of crime.

HISTORY OF VICTIMOLOGY
At first, (going back to the origins of criminology in the 1880s), anything
resembling victimology was simply the study of crime from the perspective of the victim.
With the exemption of some psychological profilers who do this, nobody really advocates
this approach to victimology anymore. The scientific study of victimology can be traced
back in the 1940s and 1950s.

Two criminologists, Benjamin Mendelsohn and Hans Von Hentig, began to

explore the field of victimology by creating “typologies”. They are considered the “fathers
of the study of victimology.”

These new “Victimologist” began to study the

behaviors and vulnerabilities of victims, such as the
resistance of rape victims and characteristics of the
types of people who were victims of crime,
especially murder victims.

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Mendelsohn interviewed victims to obtain information, and his analysis led him to
believe that most victims had an “unconscious aptitude for being victimized.” He created
a typology of six (6) types of victims, with only the
Benjamin Mendelsohn Hans Von Hentig
first type, the innocent, portrayed as just being in the
wrong place at the wrong time. The other five types Photo Source: images/google.com

all contributed somehow to their own injury, and

represented victim precipitation.

Von Hentig studied victim’s homicide, and said that the most likely type of victim
is the “depressive type” who is an easy target, careless and unsuspecting. The “greedy
type” is easily duped because his or her motivation for easy gain lowers his or her
natural tendency to be suspicious. The “wanton type” is particularly vulnerable to
stresses that occur in a given period of time in the life cycle, such as juvenile victims.
The “tormentor,” is the victim of an attack from the target of his or her abuse, such as
with battered women.

THE STUDY OF VICTIMOLOGY

Before we can understand victimology, we need to appreciate that it is a fairly
new subfield or area of specialization within criminology.

Criminology is rather broad field of study that encompasses the study of law
making, law breaking, and societal reactions to law breaking.

Victimology, much like criminal justice, fall into the third of these areas.
Victimology does not have any subfields within itself; in fact, there are few theories, and
little or no school of thought.

Going back to criminology, there are four subfields: penology (and the sociology
of law); delinquency (sometimes referred to as psychological criminology); comparative
(and historical) criminology; and victimology.

Victimology is the scientific study of victimization, including the relationships

between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice
system – that is, the police and courts, and corrections officials – and the connections
between victims and other societal groups and institutions, such as the media,
businesses, and social movements. From this definition, victimology encompasses the
study of:

1. Victimization
2. Victim – offender relationships
3. Victim – criminal justice system relationships
4. Victims and the media
5. Victims and the costs of crime
6. Victims and social movements

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Victimologist refers to any person with the following foremost duties:

1. Investigates victims plight: the impact of the

injuries and losses by offenders on the people
they target;
2. Carry out research into the public’s political,
social, and economic reactions to the plight of
victims;
3. Study how victims were handled by officials
and agencies within the CJS, especially
interactions with police officers, prosecutors,
defense attorneys, judges, probation officers
and members of the parole boards; Photo Source: wiki-kidzsearch.com

4. It determines whether crime victims have physically injured, economically hurt,

robbed or self-respect, or emotionally traumatized;
5. It aims to devise way to help victims recover;
6. It finds out if the victims are effectively assisted, served, accommodated, rehabilitated
and educated to avoid further trouble (Karmen, 2007).

THEORIES OF VICTIMOLOGY
Over the years, ideas about victim precipitation has come to be perceived as a
negative thing; “victim blaming” it is called. Research into ways in which victims
“contribute” to their own victimization is considered by victims and victim advocates as
both unacceptable and destructive. Yet a few enduring models and near – theories exist,
such as the following:

1. Luckenbill’s (1977) Situated Transaction Model

This one is commonly found in the sociology of deviance textbooks. The
idea is that at the interpersonal level, crime and victimization is a contest of
character. The stages go like this:

a. Insult – “your Momma”;

b. Clarification – “whaddya say about my Mother”;
c. Retaliation – “I said your Momma and you too”;
d. Counter retaliation – “well, you’re worse than my Momma”;
e. Presence of Weapon – or search for a weapon or clenching of fists;
f. Onlookers – presence of the audience helps escalate the situation.

2. Benjamin and Master’s Threefold Model

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This one is found in the variety of criminological studies, from prison riots
to strain theories. The idea is that conditions that support crime can be classified
into three general categories:

a. Precipitating factors – time, space, being in the wrong place at the wrong time;
b. Attracting factors – choices, options, lifestyles (the sociological expression
“lifestyle” refers to daily routine activities as well as special events one engages
in on a predictable basis);
c. Predisposing factors – all the sociodemographic characteristics of victims,
being male, being young, being poor, being a minority, living in squalor, being
single, being employed.

3. Cohen & Felson’s (1979) Routine Activities Theory

This one is quite popular among Victimologist today who are anxious to
test the theory. Briefly, it says that crime occurs whenever three conditions come
together:
a. Suitable targets – and we’ll always have suitable targets as long as we have
poverty;
b. Motivated offenders – and we’ll always have motivated offenders since
victimology, unlike deterministic criminology, assumes anyone will try to get away
with something if they can; and
c. Absence of guardians – the problem is that there’s few defensible spaces
(natural surveillance areas) and in the absence of private security, the
government can’t do the job alone.

Other Theories of Victimology

1. Victim Precipitation Theory
This theory suggests that the characteristics of
the victim precipitate the crime. That is, a criminal
could single out a victim because the victim is of a
certain ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender or
gender identity.

This theory does not only involve hate crimes

directed at specific groups of people. It might also
involve occupations or activities. source bhttps://opinionfront.com/victim-precipitation-theory-explained-with-examples

Example:
a. Someone who is opposed to his or her views may target a political
activist.
b. An employee may target a recently promoted employee if he or she
believes they deserved the promotion.

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2. Lifestyle Theory
This theory suggests that certain people may become the victims of
crimes because of their lifestyles and choices.

Example:
a. Someone with a gambling or substance addiction could be as an “easy
victim” by a con artist.
b. Walking alone at night in a dangerous area, conspicuously wearing
expensive jewelry, leaving doors unlocked and associating with known
criminals are other lifestyle characteristics that may lead to victimization.

3. Deviant Place Theory

The deviant place theory states that an individual is more likely to become
the victim of a crime when exposed to dangerous areas. In other words, a
mugger is more likely to target a person walking alone after dark in a bad
neighborhood. The more frequently a person ventures into bad neighborhoods
where violent crime is common, the greater the risk of victimization.There is
some overlap between the lifestyle theory and the deviant place theory.

4. Routine Activity Theory

This theory was first articulated by Lawrence
Cohen and Marcus Felson. They concluded that the
volume and distribution of predatory crime (violent
crimes against a person and crimes in which an
offender attempts to steal an object indirectly) are
closely related to the interaction of three variables that
reflect the routine activities.
a. The availability of suitable targets such as
homes containing easily saleable goods.
b. The absence of capable guardianssuch as
police, hometowns, neighbors, friends and
relatives.
c. The presence of motivated offenderssuch as large number of
unemployed teenagers.

CRIME VICTIM

Legal definition of “victim’ typically includes the following:

A victim refers to a person who has suffered direct, or threatened, physical,
emotional or pecuniary harm as a result of the commission of crime; or in the case of a
victim being an institutional entity, any of the same harms by an individual or authorized
representative of another entity. Group harms are normally covered under civil and

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constitutional law, with “hate crime” being an emerging criminal law development,
although criminal law tends tend to treat all cases as individualized.

Besides “primary crime victims”, there are also “secondary crime victims” who
experience the harm second hand, such as intimate partners or significant others of rape
victims or children of a battered woman. It may also make sense to talk about “tertiary
crime victims” who experience the harm vicariously, such as through media accounts or
from watching television. Victim defenses have recently emerged in cases of parricide
(killing one’s parents) and homicide of batterers by abused spouses. Advocates for
battered women were among the first to recognize the issue, and promote the “battered
women syndrome” to defend women who killed or seriously injured a spouse or partner
after enduring years of physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse.

Attorneys have also drawn upon theories of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to

defend their client’s behavior. From time to time, media attention to these defenses
becomes intense, and certain “high profile” cases tend to influence public opinion and
spread confusion over who is the “victim” and who is the “victimizer”.

Victim in General
In general, victim means any person who, by reason of natural disaster or man-
made cause, individually or collectively, has suffered harm, including physical or mental
injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of his/her
fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws,
including those proscribing abuse of power.

Victim refers to a person who has suffered direct, or threatened, physical,

emotional or pecuniary harm as a result of the commission of a crime; or in the case of a
victim being an institutional entity, any of the same harms by an individual or authorized
representative of another entity.

Who is a Crime Victim?

Crime Victim refers to any person, group, or entity who has suffered injury or loss due
to illegal activity (man-made). The harm can be:

a. Physical – physical harm may include physical injury, generally it involves

physical pain.

b. Psychological – the following are psychological reactions:

1. Increase in the belief of personal vulnerability;
2. Perception of the word as meaningless and incomprehensible; and
3. View themselves in the negative light.

c. Economic – economic harm may include loss of property like family house,
business establishment and the like.

The experience of victimization results in an increasing fear of the victim of the crime
and the spread of fear in the community.

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CONSEQUENCES OF CRIME
Emotional distress as a result of crime is a recurring theme for all victims of
crime. The most common problem affecting three quarters of victims was psychological
problems including:

 Depression (Posttraumatic Stress  Helplessness

Disorder)  Humiliation
 Anxiety  Anger
 Paranoia  Shock
 Loss of Control  Feeling of inequity
 Shame  Increased awareness or
 Embarrassment mortality
 Vulnerability  Tension
 Self-blame  Fear

Other effect of crime to victims includes:

 Loss  Obsessive—compulsive
 Suffering Disorder
 Fear (themselves and to others)  Anti-social behavior
 Suicidal thought

These problems often result in the development of chronic PTSD (Post-

Traumatic Stress Disorder). Post crime distress is also link to pre-existing emotional
problems and socio - demographic variables. This is known as the leading cause of the
elderly to be more adversely affected.

Models of Victimization

The following are the models of victimization:

1. Victim of Crime Model (Man-made Cause)

This model of victimization is applicable to victims of man-made causes
like homicide, rape and others. The stages are as follows:

a. Stage of Impact and Disorganization – this depicts the attitude or activity

of the victim during and immediately following the criminal event.

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b. Stage of Recoil – This stage occurs during which the victim formulates
psychological defenses and deals with conflicting emotions of guilt, anger,
acceptance and desire of revenge (this could last 3 to 8 months).
c. Reorganization Stage – this stage occurs during which victims puts
his/her life back to normal daily living.

2. Victim of Disaster Model (Natural Cause)

This model of victimization is applicable to victims of natural causes like
earthquake, flood, volcanic eruption and others. The stages are as follows:

a. Pre-impact Stage – this describes the state of the victim prior to being
victimized.
b. Impact Stage – this is the phase in which victimization occurs.
c. Post-impact Stage – this stage entails the degree and duration of the
personal and social disorganization following victimization.
d. Behavioral Outcome – this phase describes the victim’s adjustment to the
victimization experience.

Kinds of Crime Victim

The kinds of victims are as follows:

1. Direct or Primary Crime Victim – this kind of victim directly suffers the harm or
injury which is physical, psychological and economic losses.
2. Indirect or Secondary Crime Victim – victims who experience the harm second
hand, such as intimate partners or significant others of rape victims or children of
a battered woman. This may include family members of the primary victims.
However, Karmen also included first responders and rescue workers who race to
crime scenes (such as police officers, forensic evidence technicians, paramedics,
fire-fighters and the like) as secondary victims because they are also exposed to
emergencies and trauma on such a routine basis and that they also need
emotional support themselves.
3. Tertiary Crime Victim – victims who experience the crime vicariously, such as
through media accounts, the scared public or community due to watching news
regarding crime incidents.

Note:The Supreme Court of the United States first recognized the rights of crime victims
to make a victim impact statement in the sentencing phase of a criminal trial in the case
of Payne vs. Tennessee 501 U.S. 808 (1991).

What is a Victim Impact Panel?

A Victim Impact Panel is a form of community - based or restorative justice in
which the crime victims (or relatives and friends of deceased crime victims) meet with
the defendant after conviction to tell the convict about how the criminal activity affected
them, in the hope of rehabilitation or deterrence.

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Victim Assistance
The following are the ideal supports to be given to the victims:

1. Victims should receive the necessary material, medical, psychological and social
assistance through governmental, voluntary, community-based and indigenous
means.
2. Victims should be informed of the availability of health and social services and
other relevant assistance and be readily afforded access to them.

3. Police, justice, health, social service and other personnel concerned should
receive training to sensitize them to the needs of the victims, and guidelines to
ensure proper and prompt aid.
4. In providing services and assistance to victims, attention should be given to
those who have special needs because of the nature of the harm inflicted or
because of factors such as those mentioned in paragraph 3 above.

Mendelsohn’s Types of Victim

Mendelsohn interviewed victims to obtain information, and his analysis led him to
believe that most victims had an “unconscious aptitude for being victimized.”

The following are the types of victim according to Mendelsohn:

1. Innocent – portrayed as just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
2. Victim with only minor guilt and was victimized due to ignorance.
3. Victim who is just as guilty as the offender and the voluntary victim. Suicide
case is common to this category.
4. The victim guiltier than the offender – this category was described as
containing persons who provoked the criminal or actively induced their own
victimization.
5. The Most Guilty Victim “who is guilty alone” – an attacker killed by a would-
be victim in the fact of defending himself is an example of this.
6. The Imaginary Victim – a victim suffering from mental disorders, or those
victims with extreme mental abnormalities.

According to Mendelsohn, the last five types all contributed somehow to their
own injury, and presented as victim precipitation.

Von Hentig’s Taxonomy of Murder Victims

The following are the types of murder victim, according to Hentig:

1. Depressive Type – a person who lacks ordinary prudence and discretion. He is

an easy target, careless and unsuspecting. He is submissive by virtue of
emotional condition.

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2. Greedy of Gain or Acquisitive Type – a person who lacks all normal inhibitions
and well-founded suspicions. This person is easily duped because his/her
motivation for easy gain lowers his/her natural tendency to be suspicious.
3. Wanton or Overly Sensual Type – a victim where “female’s foibles play a role.
This victim is particularly vulnerable to stresses that occur at a given period of
time in the life cycle, such as juvenile victims. Further, this victim is ruled by
passion and thoughtlessly seeking pleasure.
4. Tormentor Type – the victim of attack from the target of his/her abuse, such as
battered women. The most primitive way of solving a personal conflict is to
annihilate physically the cause of trouble.
5. Lonesome Type – this is the same with the acquisitive type of victim, by virtue of
wanting companionship or affection.
6. Heartbroken Type – this victim is emotionally disturbed by virtue of heartaches
or pains.

Von Hentig’s Classes of Victim

The following are the classes of victim, according to Hentig:

1. The Young – the young is weak by virtue of age and maturity.

2. The Female – female is physically less powerful and is easily dominated by
male.
3. The Old – the old is incapable of physical defense and the common object of
illegal scheme.
4. The Mentally Defective – Mentally Defective Person is unable to think clearly.
5. The Immigrant – immigrant is unsure of the rules of conduct in the surrounding
society.
6. The Minorities – racial prejudice may lead to victimization or unequal treatment
by the agency of justice.
7. The Dull Normals- the simple-minded person, the “born victims of swindlers”.

CRIME PREVENTION & PROTECTION PRINCIPLES

Crime Prevention and Protection

This can be broadly defined as anything that reduces the level of crime and/or
the perceived fear of crime.

Frameworks of Crime Prevention are:

1. It is focused on making the environment safe from crime;
2. It may reduce the potential for crime in high-risk situations; and
3. Halt the possibility of future crime.

Frameworks of Crime Protection are:

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1. It is focused on ensuring victims, their rights to assistance and attention to their

needs; and
2. It particularly emphasizes the prevention of re-victimization.

This action was exemplified by ideals contained in the 1948 United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and also by other governmental and non-
governmental programs involving victim assistance, advocacy, compensation,
reparation, reconciliation, restoration and reintegration.

Stages of Crime Prevention

The following are the stages of crime prevention:

1. Primary Prevention
Primary prevention can be done in any context or location, whether a
residence, workplace, school, neighborhood, community, or society. Primary
prevention involves altering the environment in such a way that the root causes
or at least the facilitators of crime are eliminated.

Theories of Primary Crime Prevention are:

a. Social Disorganization Theory - Social Disorganization Theory states that

residential mobility and racial heterogeneity led people to have little interest in
improving their neighborhood and more of an interest in moving out, leaving
behind an area where crime could easily occur.

b. Defensible Space Theory - Defensible Space Theory of defensible space, like

its counterpart in the field of private security called Crime Prevention through
Environmental Design (CPTED), tends to focus on preventing easy access and
exit by potential criminals as well as the elimination of their hiding places and
where they can geographically select a target.

c. Routine Activity Theory - Routine Activity Theory posits a high rate of potential
victims becoming actual victims whenever three things occur in space and time
together: the absence of capable guardians; an abundance of motivated
offenders; and suitable targets.

d. Broken Window Theory - Broken Window Theory argues that sign of decay,
disorder and civilities, such as abandoned buildings, broken street lights, and
graffiti all invite potential criminals to an area.

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On a larger level, primary prevention can be based on macro-social

theories about the causes of crime in society, with examples of such efforts being
a job, housing, education, healthcare, and religious programs.

2. Secondary Prevention
Secondary prevention involves a focus upon specific problems, places,
and times with the twin goals, of reducing situation-specific opportunities for
crime and increasing the risk of committing crime. This is called Situational Crime
Prevention. Secondary Prevention is most typically based on well-established
law enforcement practices, such as:

a. Problem-oriented policing where the problem drives a team solution;

b. Hot spots analysis which targets certain areas for saturation or directed patrol;
c. Surveillance and target-hardening which increase the risk and effort for
committing crime;
d. Property identification;
e. Security lighting;
f. Intrusion alarms;
g. Neighborhood watch;
h. Citizen patrols;
i. Protection personnel; and
j. Efforts on the part of victims to change their lifestyles.

A major criticism of secondary prevention is that it does not really reduce

crime, but displaces it to other areas.

3. Tertiary Prevention
Tertiary Prevention is a term taken from the field of medicine to describe
the procedures to be taken after the disease or threat is manifest. Such
procedures typically serve a deterrence or minimization of harm purpose, and are
almost always characterized by being reactive, or after the fact. Examples would
include personal injury or property insurance as well as self-protective measures
engage in by those who have been victimized previously. Carrying a non-
concealed self-protective device or walking in a self-confident manner
accomplishes the purpose of deterrence. Carrying a concealed device or whistle
to blow for help accomplishes the purpose of minimization, or at least the chance
for an unsuccessful criminal outcome.

Tertiary Prevention is often symbolic, as to get tough legislation and other

legal reforms which make the punishment for a crime more certain, severe and
swift.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM RESPONSE

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First of all, we need to know who the victims are. While crime victim related
research of 40 to 50 years ago examined the characteristics of victims, much of it
approached the issue from the perspective of “shared responsibility”, that is how crime
victims were, in part, “responsible” for their victimization.

In recent decades, the paradigm has shifted. The contemporary study of the
characteristics of crime victims has tended the focus of identifying risk factor in order to
better understand the phenomena, without attributing blame to the victims. Information
about the risk for victimization has been used to develop crime prevention and
enforcement strategies.

Research indicates that there is a host of individual, situational, and community-

level factors that increase risk of criminal victimization. Let us look at the individual
factors. Individuals can be described in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics.
These characteristics are encapsulated in the acronym S.A.U.C.E.R. The risk of
becoming a crime victim varies as a function of S.A.U.C.E.R.

1. Sex – Male or Female

2. Age – Young, middle aged, or elderly
3. Urban – urban or rural
4. Class – socioeconomic class
5. Ethnicity – racial characteristic
6. Religion – religious preference

Crime According to Socio-Demographic Profile

Sex – with the exception of sexual assault than women. Lifetime risk of homicide is three
to four times higher for men than women.

Age – adolescence have substantially higher rates of assault than young adults or older
Americans. Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey indicated that 12 to 19
years olds are 2 to 3 times as likely as those over 20 to become victims of personal
crime each year. Data from the National Women’s Study indicated that 62% of all
forcible rape cases occurred when the victim was under 18 years of age.

Urban – Crime and Victimization is mostly an urban problem. Urban areas have a
dangerous amount of transience (strangers moving in and out of town), heterogeneity
(mix of different people and places), and disorganization (dilapidation of housing and
buildings).

Class – Violence disproportionately affects those from lower socioeconomic classes.

Family income is related to rates of violence and victimization, with lower income
families at a higher risk than those from higher income brackets. Poverty increases the
risk of assault even after controlling for the effects of prior victimization and sensation
seeking.

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Ethnicity – racial and ethnic minorities have higher rates of assault than other
Americans. African-Americans are six times more likely than white Americans to be
homicide victims. Rates of violent assault are approximately twice as high for African –
and Hispanic-Americans are significantly more likely than White-Americans to have ever
been victims of violent crime.

Religion – Certain religious groups tend to be regularly prosecuted, and over

represented in hate crime statistics.

Victims and the Criminal Justice System (CJS)

Victims of crime deserve rights and services in the Criminal Justice System that
begins from reporting crime to the police, and continues through the entire criminal
justice and corrections processes. The Criminal Justice System is charged with
processing cases from the point of victimization, through investigation, arrest,
prosecution and sanctions. At each point along these continuum, criminal justice
agencies and professionals have opportunities and obligations to provide victims with
assistance, services and accommodations to ease their difficulties on what is already a
very trying, and tragic time.

In Criminal Justice System can minimize and avoid inflicting “secondary

victimization” that has often characterized much as the plight of victims of crime.

CJS Agencies’ Roles and Responsibilities

1. Law Enforcement
As “first responders” to most crimes, police department serve a critical
and primary role in providing immediate intervention and assistance to victims of
crime. Unlike most social service agencies, police departments are typically open
every day of the year, 24-hours-a-day. As such, there is tremendous
responsibility in the part of law enforcement officers and civilian personnel to
provide sensitive and supportive victim services.

Police-based services provide essential assistance to victims of crime.

These include on-site crisis intervention and securing emergency medical
assistance. Additionally, law enforcement programs may provide information and
referrals to services and resources that can aid in a victim’s short and long-term
reconstruction. Essential services should include, but are not limited to:

a. Orientation to the law enforcement and investigatory process.

b. Provision of or referral of accompaniment to crisis intervention and psychological
first-aid.
c. Accompaniment to emergency medical services in cases involving injury.
d. Contacting a victim service professional to provide on-site assistance and
support, upon request of the victim.
e. Providing information to crime victims about their constitutional and statutory
rights, and the availability of crime victim compensation.

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f. Securing the victim’s property if personal safety has been compromised as a

result of crime.
g. Personally contacting the victim by telephone or in person 24-to-48 hours
following the initial response to see if assistance has been sought and/or
received.
h. Immediate referrals (verbally and in writing) to community agencies that offer
emergency services to victims, as well as information about financial assistance,
should be provided to all victims.

2. Prosecution
If the law enforcement has investigated crimes and suspects have been
arrested, the cases are then referred to prosecutors. Although each state’s laws
and procedures provide for different ways to initiate a criminal action, these are
leading to charging and arraignment.

At this point, information regarding the investigation and facts of the

crimes are presented by law enforcers to the court with the assistance of
prosecutors, and appropriate charges are levied against the defendants. When
appropriate, they are “bound over for trial” on the charges levied.

3. Court
Assuming a case goes beyond the plea negotiation stage, during the trial,
the defendant continues to receive basic protections granted by the constitution,
state constitutions and various state law holdings. Volumes of materials are
available on defendant’s rights. These include, for example, the right to obtain all
exculpatory evidence from the prosecution, which would tend to prove the
innocence of the defendant. Also, the defendant has the right to confront and
cross-examine his/her accusers. Often, this is very difficult for the victim, who
must be well prepared to withstand the onslaught of cross-examination by
aggressive defense counsel.

Judges are empowered to sentence convicted criminals; it is important

that judges include information regarding the impact of the crime in the victim in
their assessment of appropriate sentences. Often, this information is provided
through the prosecutor-based victim assistance program, a probation officer, or
another official source, and is typically referred to as a Victim Impact Statement
(VIS). VIS information is often comprehensive assessment of the injuries caused
by the offender available to the judge; it is crucial that this information be
conveyed to the sentencing court.

4. Correction
In the Philippines, if an accused is sentenced (3 years above) to a term of
imprisonment, the Bureau of Correction assumes responsibility for convicts’

Introduction to Criminology | Module University of Antique

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supervision. The offender’s file that contains details of the crime, court case and
sentence, victim impact statement (when applicable), recommendations for
treatment and services during the period of incarceration and personal
information, are utilized as bases for offenders’ classification.

The purpose of classification is to place in the most appropriate

incarceration setting (minimum, medium, maximum, or super-maximum facility).
The Bureau of Correction houses the offender for his/her period of incarceration;
implements and monitors work, educational and treatment activities available to
inmates; and coordinates any release into the community with paroling
authorities.

5. Community
The last pillar of the Philippine Criminal Justice System; it is where a
person (prisoner), after service of his/her sentence is released into. Community is
a place where a well-developed person after having been reformed in the prison
starts a new life.

MODULE 5: ACTIVITY 1 (Integration/Application)

CREATING OUR OWN MINI GLOSSARY

 For this activity, you need to create your own mini glossary.
 Based on the lessons given, choose 10 important terminologies.
 Provide the meaning of those chosen words. You may research and
add definitions, provided it is connected to our lesson.
 Encode it in a short size bond paper with your own chosen
background.
 Arrange it in alphabetical order.
 Each terminology is equivalent to 3 points.

Introduction to Criminology | Module University of Antique