Assignment:
Victims and Victimology
Prior to the 1970s, most criminologists devoted their time to the study of criminals and the causes of crime. Crime victims were virtually invisible within the criminal justice system and to the general public; there was little or no focus on the victims of crime. In the 1970s, U.S. funded studies of crime in several major cities revealed that victimization was underestimated and that large numbers of crime victims were being underserved by the criminal justice system. A new branch of criminology emerged that focused on the victims of crimes. This branch is known as victimology.
You begin your exploration of victimology by examining the characteristics and needs of direct and indirect victims of crime.
Discussion: Direct and Indirect Victims of Crime
The term victim has been in use for centuries. In contemporary times, its definition has come to include people who are affected both directly and indirectly by crime, accidents, and disease. Direct and indirect victims suffer differently. After an assault, the assault victim is the direct victim, suffering from injuries and perhaps a loss of property or work. Indirect victims include family, friends, and members of the community. Family and friends may suffer due to economic or emotional hardship that is a byproduct of the crime, while the community may live in fear and may limit activity. In this Discussion, you examine how crime affects both direct and indirect victims in order to effectively address their needs.
Post a response to the following:
Briefly describe one property crime and one violent crime.
Identify the direct and indirect victim(s) of each crime.
Explain the effect of the crime on both direct and indirect victims and how their needs differ. For each crime, address the effects on two of these areas:
- Medical
- Emotional
- Physical
- Financial
- Readings
Karmen, A. (2020). Crime victims: An introduction to victimology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Chapter, "What is Victimology?" (pp. 1-40)
Chapter, "The Rediscovery of Crime Victims" (pp. 41-79)
Readings:
The need for protection and punishment in victims of violent and nonviolent crime in the Netherlands: The effect of relational distance
By Annemarie Ten Boom, Antony Pemberton