criminal

Challenging the Victims Version of Events When people fill out a complaint form in a police station, they want their versions of what transpired to be accepted. From a detective’s point of view, however, it is a necessary part of the job to maintain V I C T IMS AND THE P OL I C […]

Handling Victims with Care People who bring their problems to a police station expect procedural justice. They want officers and detectives to listen to them without bias as they explain their situation. They anticipate that the police will be sensitive and polite, treat them with 188 CH APT ER 6 Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All

VICTIMS AND THE POLICE Law enforcement agencies are the first representa- tives of the criminal justice system that victims encounter in the immediate aftermath of crimes. If their cases are not solved with an arrest, then police officers in metropolitan areas and sheriff’s deputies in rural areas will be the only criminal justice professionals with

SUSAN HERMAN, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME (1999) In the year 2000, Americans were victims of millions of crimes. Behind each of these numbers is a terrible trauma, a story of suffering and a story of lost security. Yet the needs of victims are often an afterthought in our criminal justice

JAMES REILLY, DIRECTOR OF THE VICTIM/WITNESS ASSISTANCE PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL DISTRICT ATTORNEYS’ ASSOCIATION (1981, P. 8) Crimes that terrorize take many forms, from aggravated assault to petty thievery. But one crime goes largely unno- ticed. It is a crime against which there is no protection. It is committed daily across our nation. It is

WHAT DO VICTIMS WANT: PUNISHMENT? TREATMENT? RESTITUTION? Why should victims bring their problems to the attention of a law enforcement agency that func- tions as the intake valve or first component of the legal system? What motivates them when they ask the police to set the crime justice process into motion? What kinds of results

VICTIMS INTERACTING WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: COOPERATION OR CONFLICT? The criminal justice system is the one branch of government that comes under scathing attack from all political quarters. Conservative crime con- trol proponents, treatment-oriented liberals, civil libertarians, civil rights activists, feminists, and vic- tim advocates—all find fault with its priorities and procedures. Over the

Ambivalence About Risk Taking Contradictory messages permeate American cul- ture on the subject of risk taking. On the one TH E O N GO IN G C ON T RO VE RSY O VE R S HARE D RE S P ON S IB I L I T Y 173 Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All

Reducing Risks: How Safe Is Safe Enough? When social scientists estimate risks, they are pre- dicting how many people will experience unwanted incidents. Statistical concepts underlying risk estimates can be difficult to grasp. Only three distinct probabilities can be readily understood: “0,” which signifies that an event is impossible; “1,” which means that an event

What is the Difference Between Crime Prevention and Victimization Prevention?Difference Between Crime Prevention and Victimization Prevention? The concept of crime prevention has been defined in a number of ways. A rather inclusive definition would be the sum total of all proactive state policies and private initiatives (by individuals, community groups, businesses, and other organiza- tions)