Victims and Victimization - Criminal Law - Lecture Slides, Slides of Criminal Law

Download Victims and Victimization - Criminal Law - Lecture Slides and more Slides Criminal Law in PDF only on Docsity! Victims and Victimization Docsity.com Emergence of Victimology and Victimologists  For many years victims were just looked at as people who were “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”  Starting in the 1960s researchers saw that victims sometimes play a role in a criminal incident  Active role  Indirect role  Victimology  The study of the victim’s role in criminal events  Victimologists  Criminologists who specifically focus on the victims of crime Docsity.com The Social Ecology of Victimization  Violent crimes are slightly more likely to occur in a public area during daytime or early evening hours  More serious violent crimes typically occur after 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.  Rape and aggravated assault  Less serious violent crimes more likely occur in the day  Purse snatching and unarmed robberies  The risk of murder is highest in disorganized inner-city areas  Rural areas have significantly lower victimization rates than urban areas (half as much)  Schools are also the location of many victimization  Numbers are decreasing Docsity.com The Victim’s Household  In the U.S. certain homes are more vulnerable to crimes  Larger homes (family size)  African American  Renters  Western and urban homes  Rural white homes in the Northeast are least likely to contain crime victims  Reasons for decrease in victimizations based on current household trends??? Docsity.com Important Victim Characteristics  Gender  Age  Social status  Marital status  Race and Ethnicity  Repeat victimization Docsity.com Race and Ethnicity  African Americans are more likely than whites to be victims of violent crime  Due to income inequality, many racial and ethnic minorities live in deteriorated urban areas with high rates of violence  Overall the rate of black victimization is on the decline Docsity.com Routine Activities Theory  The view that victimization results from the interaction of three everyday factors: • Suitable targets • objects of crime that are attractive and readily available • Absence of capable guardians • effective deterrents to crime, such as police • Presence of motivated offenders • people willing and able to commit crimes •The presence of these three components increases the chances that a crime will take place •Hot Spots Docsity.com Research that Supports Routine Activities Theory  Argued that crime rates increased between 1960 and 1980 because females entered the workplace  Increased drug usage in the 1980s created more motivated offenders  Decline in crime rates since the 1990s may be a result of the improved economy Docsity.com Victims and Self Protection  Many individuals have become their own “police force”  Take an active role in community protection  The more crime in an area the more likely residents will resort to self protective measures  Many crimes are not reported because people prefer to take matters in their own hands  Target hardening  Fighting back  Standing your ground  Community organization Docsity.com Victims’ Rights  Society is obligated to ensure basic rights for law-abiding citizens  Every state has legal rights for crime victims in its code of law  These are often called a Victims’ Bill of Rights and include: • To be notified of proceedings and the status of the defendant • To be present at criminal justice proceedings • To make a statement at sentencing and to receive restitution from a convicted offender • To be consulted before a case is dismissed or a plea agreement entered • To a speedy trial • To keep the victim’s contact information confidential Docsity.com New Movements for Victims’ Rights  Offender registration laws  These are controversial laws that require the name and address of known sex offenders be posted by law enforcement agencies  Almost every state today has sex offender laws  The federal government has a National Sex Offender Public Registry Docsity.com