Crime Victims: An Introduction to
Victimology
Seventh Edition
By Andrew Karmen
Chapter One: What is
Victimology?
1
VICTIMOLOGY
“Scientific study of physical, emotional, and
financial harm people suffer because of
illegal activities.”
Included in this definition is the victimization
occurring for victims within the criminal justice
system.
2
VICTIMOLOGY
 Victims—Individuals who experience loss, injury,
or hardship for any reason
 Crime Victims—Above as result of an illegal act
 Direct/Primary Victims—Experience criminal act
and its consequences first-hand
 Indirect/Secondary Victims—Family and those
who suffer emotionally or financially but are not
immediately involved. Can also include care-givers
and first responders
3
Studying Victimization Scientifically
 Subjective Approach
– Issues are approached from standpoint of
morality, ethics, philosophy, personalized
reactions, and emotions
 Objective Approach
– Requires observer to be fair, open-minded,
even-handed, dispassionate, neutral, and
unbiased
4
Studying of Victimization
Scientifically
 Why should victimologists NOT be provictim?
 “Ideal Victim”: person who suffered harm
was weaker than aggressor, acting
virtuously or not looking for trouble or
breaking any laws, and wrongdoer was a
stranger acting illegally and was unprovoked
5
Victims or Offenders?
 Who is the victim and who is the offender?
 Not always clear cut—consider the
following:
– Subway Vigilante
– Menendez Brothers
6
Criminals as Victims
 Victims not always “innocent;”
 Examples
– Gang members attacking another gang
– Drug dealer ripping off a customer
– A “john” robbing a prostitute (or vice-versa)
7
Cycle of Violence
 Cycle of violence over time can transform
victim(s) into victimizer(s)
– Group of picked on students may gang up
against the bully
– Battered wife may launch a vengeful attack
against husband
– Convicts much more likely to have been abused
physically or sexually as children
8
Victims vs. “Good Guys”
 Victimologists do not limit their studies to clashes
between victims and offenders
 They also consider the social reaction to
victimization
 Victims are often “used” by other parties
– Media sensationalizes some cases
– Organizations with an agenda might use a victim’s plight
for publicity, fund raising, etc.
9
Victimology’s Undeserved
“Bad Reputation”
 Victimology during the 90s and into the
twentieth century has become a “dirty word”
to many people
 Do not confuse “victimism” with “victimology”
 “Victimology” is often misused, when the
author intends to describe “victimism.” The
next slide is an example of mis-using the
word “victimology”
10
Victimology’s Undeserved
“Bad Reputation”
 (Leo, 1994) a news magazine commentator
complained, “We are deep into the era of
the abuse excuse. The doctrine of
victimology—claiming victim status means
you are not responsible for your actions—is
beginning to warp the legal system.”
11
Victimology’s Undeserved
“Bad Reputation”
 Victimology is a new academic discipline
that only means “the study of victims.”
 It is focused on the research about people
harmed by criminals
 It does not impose a partisan point of view
or a set or predictably biased conclusions
 The ideology of “victimism” is a coherent,
integrated set of beliefs that shapes
interpretations and leads to political action
12
Victimology’s Undeserved
“Bad Reputation”
 Victimological research must tell the whole
truth regardless of who is disappointed or
insulted
 Three types of biases undermine the ability
of any social scientist to achieve objectivity.
They include:
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Three Types of Bias
1. May arise from personal experience, taking
the form of individual preferences and
prejudices
2. Derives from the history of the discipline
itself
– Pioneers in the study of victimology first introduced the
concept of victim-blaming
– Today, majority of victimologists are pro-victim
14
Three Types of Bias
3. A subtle bias traced back to the mood of
the times
60s-70s: a demand for government to devise
ways to help victims get back on their feet
financially, medically, and emotionally
80s: a theme of self-reliance and a reduction
in government social spending and tax cutting
gained popularity
15
The Origins of Victimology
 Box 1.3, Page 17, provides highlights in the
brief history of Victimology and Victim
Assistance
 Significant gains in the United States when
the President’s Commission on Law
Enforcement and the Administration of
Justice urged criminologists to pay more
attention to victims
16
Milestones in Victimology
 By the 1970s victimology became a recognized
field of study
 By 1990, 240 colleges and universities offered
courses in victimology
 Most states passed crime victim rights
amendments to their state constitution
 2004—Congress enacts the Crime Victims’ Rights
Act which provides for fair treatment and
opportunities for input in federal court proceedings
17
Victimology vs. Criminology
 Victimology is best viewed as an area of
specialization within criminology
 Criminology embraces the scientific study of
crimes, criminals, criminal laws and the
justice system, societal reactions, and crime
victims
18
Victimology vs. Criminology
 Victimologists ask why some individuals,
households, and entities are targeted while
others are not
 Criminologists ask why certain individuals
become involved in lawbreaking while
others do not
19
Victimology vs. Criminology
 Criminologists apply their findings to devise
crime prevention strategies
 Victimologists use patterns and trends to
develop victimization prevention strategies
and risk-reduction tactics
 Both criminologists and victimologists study
how the criminal justice system actually
works versus how it is supposed to work
20
Victimology vs.. Criminology
 Boundaries
– Boundaries are clear cut for Criminology
– Boundaries for Victimology still unclear
– Overlap due to lack of boundaries
 Crime rates vs. victimization rates
21
Divisions Within The Discipline
 Conservative Influence
– Focuses primarily on street crimes
– Everyone to be held accountable for their
decisions and actions
– Emphasis on self reliance, NOT government
– Individual responsibility for preventing, avoiding,
resisting and recovering from criminal acts
– Strictly punish offenders on behalf of their
victims
22
Divisions Within The Discipline
 Liberal Influence
– Scope of field to extend beyond street crimes
– Endorse government intervention
– Extend ‘safety net’ mechanisms for all kinds of
misfortunes
– Look to wrongdoers repaying their victims to
allow for reconciliation
23
Divisions Within The Discipline
 Radical/Critical/Conflict Influence
– Victimization is a result of oppressive social
system
– Looks toward societal factors such as poverty,
unemployment, language barriers, etc as
explanations behind crime
24
What Victimologists Do
 Victimologists explore the interactions
between victims and offenders, victims and
the criminal justice system, and victims and
society
 Victimologists study the ways in which
crime victims are harmed, including
physical injury, psychological trauma, and
financial loss.
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What Victimologists Do
Four step process victimologists follow
when carrying out their research:
 Step 1: Identify, Define, and Describe the
Problem
 Step 2: Measure the True Dimensions of the
Problem
 Step 3: Observe How Victims Are Handled
 Step 4: Gather Evidence to Test Hypotheses
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Chapter One Key Terms
Victim
Victimization
Victimology
Direct/Primary
Victims
Survivors
Indirect/
Secondary Victims
Subjective
Approach
Objectivity
Sensationalism
Victimism
Ideology
Criminology
Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder
Crime Control
Just Deserts
Operationalization
Muggability
Ratings
Stockholm
Syndrome
Incidence
Rates
Prevalence
Rates
Lifetime
Likelihoods
Profile
Needs
Assessment
Ideal Type
Plea Negotiations
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