criminal

Fears and Confusion Reigns in the Absence of Data Statistics about kidnappings measure one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. And yet at the beginning of the 1980s, when a nationwide panic broke out, no organization or government agency was monitoring the scope of this problem. No sys- tematic and comprehensive records were kept about […]

The Rediscovery of the Plight of Kidnapped Children A six-year-old boy wanders over to the toy counter in a department store in a mall near a police station. A few minutes later, his mother realizes he has dis- appeared. An intensive search is launched, but two weeks later and 120 miles away, a fisherman dis-

THE ONGOING DEBATE BETWEEN MAXIMALISTS AND MINIMALISTS A basic question that arises whenever the particular problems of entire groups are examined is, “How many people suffer in this way?” Two distinct points of view usually can be recognized: a maxi- malist alarmist perspective and the minimalist skep- tical perspective. The ongoing debate between these two

Which Victims Get Better Treatment? Arrests Suspects are more likely to be taken into custody if the victims: Request that officers make an arrest in a deferential, nonantagonistic manner (Black, 1968) Convince the police that they themselves were not involved in any illegal activity before the incident (La Fave, 1965) Prove to officers that they

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL? The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution promises equal protection under the law for all citizens: Federal and state criminal justice systems ought to regard social factors such as class, race, nationality, religion, and sex as irrelevant to the administration of the law (blind justice). Tradition- ally, criminologists and political activists have

Influencing Parole Board Decisions Statistically, few victims ever deal with members of parole boards because only small percentages of offenders are caught, convicted, and sent away to prison for years. However, parole hearings have received a great deal of attention from the victims’ rights movement because they determine the fates of inmates who have inflicted

VICTIMS AND CORRECTIONS OFFICIALS Corrections officials include jail and prison war- dens and guards, and probation and parole officers. Victims whose cases led to successful prosecutions occasionally seek their cooperation but may find themselves in conflict over issues of safety and money. 236 CH APT ER 7 Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May

Decisions Opposing Victims Interests and Rights Government Has No Constitutional Duty to Protect Individuals In 1989 (De Shaney v. Winnebago County Dept. of Social Ser- vices), six of the nine justices decided that a government agency could not be sued for failing to intervene (on behalf of a child repeatedly beaten and permanently injured by

Supreme Court Decisions Directly Affecting Victims Decisions Advancing Victims’ Interests and Rights Victimized Children Can Testify via Closed-Circuit Television In 1990, in a 5–4 decision (Maryland v. Craig), the Supreme Court held that it was constitutional for a state to pass a law that shields a child who accuses an adult of sexual abuse from

Appealing to the Supreme Court On rare occasions, a case involving a crime victim raises significant legal issues that have not yet been addressed and resolved by an earlier judicial ruling. In these instances, victims and their supporters, as well as prosecutors and defense attorneys, have turned to the U.S. Supreme Court to make wise