Victims Role in Victimization

Victims Role in Victimization

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Victimization is singling out one person or a group from subjection to unfair treatment, tort, exploitation, crime or other wrongs. In criminal law and criminology, a victim of crime is a distinguishable individual who has enjoyed harm individually and inflicted by the perpetrator rather than by the society (Zilney & Siegel, 2011). The most common consequences of crime is emotional distress that affects three quarters of victims including shame, self-blame, anxiety, anger, difficulty sleeping, nervousness and fear. These victims mostly experiences psychological reactions like; negative perspective of self, incomprehensible and meaningless world perception and decrease realization of personal vulnerability. 

According to NIJ (2016), certain trends in American society exist within victimization and crime patterns. Men are more prone as crime victims than women, adolescents are most likely to be victimized and the blacks are more likely to be crime victims than other racial groups. Criminal victimization is a common aspect in United States. Punishment and crimes are prominent features of the landscape of America since colonial times. Crime frightens and fascinates Americans, whose understanding of punishment, violence and crime are fraught with misperceptions that stem more from media and dramatizations.

Prevention of Victimization by Victims

NIJ (2016) explains some crime prevention strategies that a victim may use which include knowledge of their surroundings, taking self-defense classes and having safety plans. Although it is good for an individual to have a safety plan, it fails to act as a guarantee of personal safety. After the event that victimizes an individual, the victim has a heightened awareness of the incidence which is different to fear of the crime. This naturally makes the victim to improve their security and safety either by self-defense classes or window locks. It is a rational prevention response to victimization and helps the individual to gain a sense of confidence and control.

Another prevention strategy that most victims can take is crisis intervention. These interventions have three basic concerns; the victims are provided with security and safety; they also get an opportunity to validate and ventilate their stories, and are helped to predict and prepare for the future. The victim should seek training on protective and security behaviors. They should avoid scenarios that remind them of the incidences. Another important prevention measure is seeking assistance externally like a group support therapy. 

When and Where Victimization Are High

According to Lauritsen and White (2014), the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) uses data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) in examining the seasonal patterns in United States of property and violent crime victimization from 1993 to 2010. Seasonal patterns are periodical victimization rates fluctuations that occur at the same time each year. The study describes seasonal patterns in violent victimization- sexual and rape assaults, simple assault, aggravated assault, and robbery, and property crimes like motor vehicle theft, burglary and household theft. Seasonal criminal patterns also include violence resulting in injury, victimizations involving a weapon and intimate partner violence.

In violent victimization, the type of crime influences the seasonal patterns. Unlike other violent types of crime, robbery does not have a seasonal fluctuation from season to season and from year to year. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 16 million criminal victimizations in 2006 befell individuals over 12 years in suburban and urban areas (Lauritsen & White, 2014). BJS (2014) explains that in approximate 76 percent of victimizations in these areas involved property crimes while 23 percent were violent. Nearly 1 percent was pick pocketing and purse snatching ( BJS, 2014). Categorically, adolescents are at high risk of victimization than any other group. The study also highlights that the rates of robbery do not exceed seasonal variations. Sexual and rape assaults victimization rates were also higher during summer than in fall and winter. During summer, the rate of intimate partner violence was higher than during fall, spring and winter. 

According to Lauritsen and White (2014), there is a seasonal pattern that exists in burglary victimization and household larceny rates. These rates tend to be higher in summer than in other times of the year. After this household property victimization was found, the difference between the highest and lowest variation was less than 11%. In the spring the rate of motor vehicle theft was lower than in summer, but it was found that there is little regular difference between winter, fall and summer rates. During summer, there was an aggravated assault rate than winter, fall and spring. Comparatively, simple assault rates tend to be higher than other seasons of the year. Violet victimization seasonal variations rates of the lowest and the highest seasons were low than 12% (Lauritsen & White, 2014).

Application of Victimization Theory and Its Application

There are four types of victimization theory, victim precipitation, lifestyle, deviant place and routine activities (Zilney & Siegel, 2011). In this study, victim precipitation theory and its application to victimization study will be discussed. Anderson and Dyson (2002) defines victim precipitation is a criminology theory that lays its analysis on how a victim interacts with their offender to contribute to the crime to be committed. This type of theory is most applicable to crimes like assault, homicide, robbery and rape. According to Zilney and Siegel (2011), ‘Victim precipitation’ phrase was first introduced by Marvin Wolfgang a criminologist in the 20^th century in his article Victim Precipitated Criminal Homicide. Wolfgang describes a victim in his theory to use physical force in the first homicide drama against his subsequent slayer.

Similarly to other criminology theories, this theory explains why and how a crime happens. Most of the other theories put their focus on the intentions and the acts of an offender but victim precipitation seeks its understanding from the interaction of an offender and a victim. The theory vies a victim as an active participant in the crime. This occurs in two ways; first, the victim as a crime participant acts first; secondly the victim provokes or encourages the offender to commit a crime. These two ways forms the victim precipitation theory primary components (Anderson & Dyson, 2002). 

The ‘Victim’ precipitation concept concentrates mostly on cases in which the victim has something to do with his own victimization. Therefore, victim precipitated cases occurs when the victim shows off a deadly weapon first in striking a blow in altercation. Often, people will be careless and set temptation opportunity situations while they put their valuables or money in ways to invite theft. When a person does not act in a reasonable self-protective behavior while handling jewelry, money or other valuables, and as a result becomes robbery victims, they are no longer considered innocent victims. This creates the concept of “Victim precipitated victimization” which is applied where victimization is positive and direct precipitator of their actions. 

According to the concept of “Victim precipitated victimization”, a victim has five attributes. The victim is weak, performs in a respectable project, is in a place they cannot be blamed to be. The fourth attribute is that the offender is either known or unknown to the victim and they have no personal relationship. The last attribute is that the offender is stronger physically and contains questionable ethics (Anderson & Dyson, 2002). In conclusion, this theory views victimology from a perspective that victims themselves initiates either actively or passively the criminal act that eventually cause injury or death 

References

Anderson, J. & Dyson, L. (2002). Criminological theories. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America.

BJS,. (2014). Data Collection: National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Office Of The Justice Programs. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=245

Lauritsen, J. & White, N. (2014). Seasonal Patterns in Criminal Victimization Trends. U.S. Department Of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/spcvt.pdf

NIJ,. (2016). Victims and Victimization. National Institute Of Justice. Retrieved from http://www.nij.gov/topics/victims-victimization/pages/welcome.aspx

Zilney, L. & Siegel, L. (2011). Study guide Criminology, the core. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.