criminal

THE REDISCOVERY PROCESS IN ACTION, STEP BY STEP The rediscovery process is more than just a well- intentioned humanitarian undertaking, media cam- paign, or example of special pleading. It has far- reaching consequences for everyday life, and the stakes are high. Injured people who gain legitimacy as innocent victims and win public backing are in […]

The Process of Rediscovery Goes On and On These recently recognized groups of victims face special pro- blems that require imaginative solutions. They eventually will receive the assistance and support they need as the rediscovery process continues to focus attention and resources on their plight: ■ Individuals who are deaf, blind, mentally retarded, mentally ill,

Highlights in the Brief History of Victimology and Victim Assistance Year Event 1924 Edwin Sutherland writes the first criminology textbook that includes a short discussion about victims. 1941 Hans Von Hentig publishes an article focusing on the interaction between victims and criminals. 1947 Beniamin Mendelsohn coins the term victimology in an article written in French.

REDISCOVERING ADDITIONAL GROUPS OF VICTIMS This process—in which people whose plight was recognized long ago but is neglected for many years until it finally attracts the attention it deserves—goes on and on with no end in sight. Some rediscovered groups that have received a great deal of study and support include abused children, battered women;

VICTIMOLOGY CONTRIBUTES TO THE REDISCOVERY PROCESS The emergence and acceptance of victimology as a scholarly endeavor has propelled the rediscovery process onward. The beginnings of the academic discipline of vic- timology can be traced back to several articles, books, and research projects initiated by criminologists dur- ing the 1940s and 1950s. Until that time, criminol-

Are car alarms really useful in deter- ring break-ins; in minimizing losses of accessories such as car stereos, navigation systems, or air bags; in pre- venting vehicles from being driven away; and in aid- ing the police to catch thieves red-handed? Similarly, research projects could attempt to determine whether burglar alarms actually deter or cut

Commercial Interests: Selling Security Products and Services to Victims Just as the rediscovery of victims by elected offi- cials and the news media has benefits as well as drawbacks, so too does the new attention paid to injured parties by businesses. An emerging market of people seeking out protective services and anti- theft devices simultaneously

The News Media: Portraying the Victims’ Plight The news media deserve a great deal of credit for rediscovering victims. In the past, offenders received the lion’s share of coverage in newspapers and maga- zines and on radio and television stations. Stories delved into their backgrounds, their motives, and what should be done with them—usually how

Elected Officials: Enacting Laws Named after Victims Legislators engaged in the political process of enact- ing new laws have helped to rediscover specific groups and address their plight. Starting in the 1980s, federal, state, and local representatives real- ized that if they proposed a new law and named it after someone who had suffered terribly

How effective and influential have the victo- ries of these campaigns really been? Similarly, liberal activists in the civil rights movement focused their energies on opposing entrenched racist beliefs and discriminatory prac- tices that encouraged members of the white major- ity to intimidate, harass, and attack people of color. Over the decades since the 1950s,