criminal

Measure the True Dimensions of the Problem Because policy makers and the general public want to know how serious various kinds of illegal activities are, victimologists must devise ways to keep track of the frequency and consequences of prohibited acts. The accuracy of statistics kept by government bureaus and private agencies must be critically examined […]

Identify, Define, and Describe the Problem The most basic task for victimologists is to deter- mine all the different ways that a violation of the law can inflict immediate and long-term harm: the extent of any physical injuries, emotional damage, and economic costs, plus any social consequences (such as loss of status). For example, as

Some Differences and Issues about Boundaries Criminology and victimology differ in several important ways. For starters, criminology is several hundred years old, whereas victimology did not emerge until the second half of the twentieth century. Criminologists agree among themselves that they should limit their studies to illegal activities and should exclude forms of social deviance

The Many Parallels between Criminology and Victimology Even though it is a rapidly evolving subdiscipline, victimology parallels its parent, criminology, in many ways. Criminologists ask why certain indivi- duals become involved in lawbreaking while others do not. Their studies concentrate on the offenders’- backgrounds and motives in order to uncover the root causes of their

COMPARING VICTIMOLOGY TO CRIMINOLOGY Victimology is an interdisciplinary field that benefits from the contributions of sociologists, psycholo- gists, social workers, political scientists, doctors, nurses, criminal justice officials, lawyers, spiritual leaders, and other professionals, volunteers, advo- cates, and activists. But academically and organiza- tionally, victimology is best conceived of as an area of specialization within criminology,

WHY EMPHASIZE RESEARCH? As a branch of social science that closely focuses on how people behave and react, victimology must be research oriented. Yet, a criticism that often is voiced is, “Why spend all that time and money trying to establish what everyone already knows? The answer is that research is always necessary because “common

Concerning everyday life: ■ A Pulitzer Prize–winning conservative commentator (Will, 1998, p. 42) titled his syndicated column opposing the Clinton administration’s antismoking campaign as “President feeds the culture of victimology.” ■ One journalist (Parker, 1999, p. B10) even insisted that “Americans are fed up with twentieth-century victimology.” B O X 1.2 (Continued) 16 CH APT

Concerning academia and life on college campuses: ■ A columnist (Seebach, 1999, p. 2B) berated liberal pro- fessors for producing college grads whom employers would reject because the students were “experts only in victimology or oppression studies.” ■ A political analyst (MacDonald, 2007) interpreted the selection of a new university president as evidence that “Harvard

Concerning courtroom strategies: ■ A news magazine columnist (Leo, 2002) took a swipe at certain lawsuits: “Yes, everybody is a victim now, but some breakthroughs in victimology are more noteworthy than others. The year’s best example was the trio of supersize teens who sued McDonald’s, claiming the burger chain made them fat by enticing them