Crime Victims: An Introduction to
Victimology
Sixth Edition
By Andrew Karmen
Chapter Six:
Victims and the Criminal Justice
System: Cooperation and
Conflict, Part One
1
How the System Handles Victims
 Criticisms: Box 6.1, page 113
– Police
– Prosecutor
– Judges
– Corrections
System creates more conflict than resolution for
victims
2
What Do Victims Want,
Punishment or Restitution?
 Three Goals
– I. Predators are punished
– II. Compel lawbreakers undergo rehabilitative
treatment
– III. Repay costs arising from injuries and loss
due to the crime
3
What Do Victims Want?
 I. Punishment
– Make examples of criminal—provided
deterrence theory really works
– Incapacitate
– Satisfies victim thirst for revenge
– Prevents future vigilantism
– Retribution—morally sound practice
– “lex talionis”; eye for an eye; just desserts
4
What Do Victims Want?
 Punishment continued—
 Opponents of this utilitarian approach have
documented that:
– Punishment—high rates of imprisonment can be
impractical, expensive, ineffective and even
counter productive
– Civil libertarians have condemned harsh
punishments as a tool of domination and
oppression used by tyrants and totalitarian
regimes to terrorize subjects into submission
5
What Do Victims Want?
 II. Rehabilitation
– Some victims want professionals to help
offenders become decent, productive, law
abiding citizens. Do not want other victims.
– Victims most likely to endorse rehabilitation if
the offender was NOT a complete stranger.
– Victims may become dismayed when “heavy
handed” policies drive the offender to become
more violent and attain new heights of antisocial
conduct.
6
What Do Victims Want?
 III. Restitution
– Some victims want restitution rather than retribution or
rehabilitation
– Want to recoup losses and pay bills incurred as result of
the crime
– Loss of pay, medical expenses, household bills unpaid
due to being out of work
Victims don’t want inaction, lack of interest,
neglect, empty promises, abuse, or
manipulation arising from the criminal justice
system
7
Victims and the Police
 Reporting Incidents
– Combined reporting rate (NCVS) in 2004=40%
of all crimes—Table 6.1, page 137
– Most likely to report crimes brandishing
weapons, physical injuries, or substantial
financial loss
– Violent crimes—Robberies most reported—
rapes least reported
8
Victims and the Police
– Records indicate police are aware of 50% of
violent crimes and 39% of property crimes in
their jurisdiction
– Citizens not required to inform authorities of
crimes committed against them on their
property. However, if they conspire or
collaborate in a cover-up to conceal a serious
crime, they can be arrested for “misprison of a
felony.”
9
Victims and the Police
 Responding Quickly
– Want police to respond quickly and apprehend
offender
– Calls often prioritized by dispatchers
– Victims often call relatives or friends first
– Witness verifies and renders needed assistance
before calling police
– Table 6.2, page 139 shows nationwide response
times, 1990-2003
10
Victims and the Police
 Police Investigating Complaints
– Handling Victims with Care
 Officers seem disinterested, remote, unconcerned
about plight of victim
 Police conclude lack of credibility and discontinue
investigation
Studies of police work show:
Protective coating of emotional detachment
Avoiding burnout inhibits impulse to get involved
Macho norms of police culture
11
Victims and the Police
 Many police departments conducting
training to assist officers with victim issues
 Teach how to administer psychological first
aid
 Learning importance of responding quickly,
listening attentively, showing concern and
refraining from challenging the victim’s
version
12
Victims and the Police
 Complaints
– Founded—verified by police
– Unfounded—police reject claims
– Defounded—police believe occurred but not as
serious as reported
Police accused of misclassification of above to
make statistics look better for themselves and
department or workload too great
13
Victims and the Police
 Investigating Complaints/Solving Crimes
– Homicides—1/2 of all closed cases solved within a
week. 93% solved within a year.
– Larceny—18% closed successfully
– Vehicle Theft—13% closed successfully
– Robberies—26% result in arrest
– Rape—58% no attacker arrested
– Aggravated Assault—44% no arrests made
– See Table 6.3, page 145: Trends In Clearance Rates
14
Victims and the Police
 “If more departments could do a better job of
catching culprits, a higher proportion of
victims would be satisfied with their
performance on this most fundamental
aspect of a law enforcement agency’s
mission.”
– Author
15
Victims and the Police
 Law enforcement has a duty to notify victim
of their rights when complaint lodged
 Victims expect police to keep them informed
of investigative progress
– 34% of agg. assault victims advised of arrest
while 59% of cases solved
– 14% of burglaries solved while only 7% of
victims notified
16
Victims and the Police
 Recovering Stolen Property—unlike
clearance rates, no good data of recovery
 Table 6.5, page 150 reflects Trends in
Stolen Property Recovery Rates, 1980-2003
 Data remains fairly consistent through the
years
 Recovered property often kept by police for
evidence to be used in a trial
17
Victims and the Police
 VICTIM-ORIENTED POLICE DEPT
– A vital component of a Community Oriented
Police Department
– Police departments must consider a revamp of
their operations and reconsider their priorities to
deal with the innocent victim concerns
explained in this chapter
18
Key Terms
Offenders
Clients or
consumers
Justice
Community
Policing
Victim Oriented
Policing
Misprison of a
Felony
Second wound
Burnout
Unfounding
Defounding
Cold case
squads
Citizen’s arrest
19