Chapter 3: Victims and Victimization

Restitution agreements are:

Conditions of probation for an offender.

Restitution agreements

Conditions of probation in which the offenders repay society or the victims of crime for the trouble the offenders caused. Monetary restitution involves a direct payment to the victim as a form of compensation. Community service restitution may be used in victimless crimes and involves work in the community in lieu of more severe criminal penalties.

Crisis intervention

Emergency counseling for crime victims.

Elder abuse

A disturbing form of domestic violence by children and other relatives with whom elderly people live.

Cycle of violence

A hypothesis that suggests that a childhood history of physical abuse predisposes survivors to becoming violent themselves in later years.

In which of the following situations would violent victimization more likely occur?

A nighttime robbery in a secluded part of a city.

A typical male is most likely to be victimized by:

A person they do not know.

Which of the following can be considered an example of target hardening?

A restaurant owner installing deadbolt locks on the doors to the business.

What contributes to target gratifiability that can encourage victimization?

A victim who routinely displays material wealth.

In which of the following scenarios would an innocent be at greatest risk for victimization, under deviant place theory?

A young female in expensive clothing accidentally exits a bus in a crime-ridden neighborhood.

Under lifestyle theory, which of the following persons would be highly susceptible to victimization?

A young male who typically skips school to partake in substance abuse with others.

Suitable targets

According to routine activities theory, a target for crime that is relatively valuable, easily transportable, and not capably guarded.

Is victimization primarily encouraged by the behavior of an individual or by the environment in which the individual places himself or herself? Explain your reasoning.

After reading the theories of victimization I think that victimization in mainly encouraged by the environment the individual places themselves in. Regardless of the actions or items possessed by the victim in most cases the victim would have to be around people willing to commit a crime in order for a crime to happen. In some ways the victim precipitation theory is logical because the victims language or aggression can push someone to commit a crime, but often the offender is willing to commit the crime for whatever reason. I agree most with the deviant place theory.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

An extreme preoccupation with certain thoughts and compulsive performance of certain behaviors.

Under the concept of deviant place theory, victimization primarily occurs as the result of:

An individual being in a high-risk location.

Which of the following scenarios would increase the chances of an individual being victimized as a result of passive precipitation?

An individual enters an establishment that is frequented by a racial group at odds with the individual's racial group.

In what way can an individual living in a high-crime neighborhood reduce the possibility of being victimized? Provide examples.

An individual living in a high-crime neighborhood can take many precautions to reduce the possibility of being victimized. One major precaution that will largely reduce the possibility of being victimized is not allowing valuables to be exposed. Another way to reduce the likelihood of being victimized is to travel in groups and limit the amount of time spend walking alone.

How are lifestyle theory and victim precipitation theory similar to each other?

Both focus on the behaviors and actions of the potential victims in encouraging victimization.

Which of the following can be explained by the cycle of violence?

Children who are abused increasingly engage in crime as they mature.

Capable guardians

Effective deterrents to crime, such as police or watchful neighbors.

Ms. Kerai (video case) arguably experienced what feeling after receiving the phone call from her husband?

Fear.

Victim-witness assistance programs

Government programs that help crime victims and witnesses; may include compensation, court services, and/or crisis intervention.

What is the focus of Ms. Kerai's (video case) volunteer work?

Helping survivors of gun violence resolve issues of anxiety and stress.

What motivated Ms. Kerai (video case) to become involved in advocating against gun violence?

Her experience as a result of her husband being present at a mass shooting.

What demographic change could likely result in higher victimization rates in the United States?

Increasing urbanization.

What is the importance of a Victims' Bill of Rights, which most states now have?

It allows those victimized to be alerted and aware of criminal proceedings against an offender.

What is the role of parent incarceration in factoring the cost of victimization?

It can create additional costs and victimization of families, due to the effects of parental absence.

How can victimization typically lead to criminality?

It can encourage negative behaviors that are meant to alleviate stress and anger.

How does the transformative effect of early victimization impact young victims?

It makes young victims highly susceptible to entering into abusive adult relationships.

Which of the following would increase the risks of victimization in an upscale neighborhood, under routine activities theory?

Long response times by a small, ineffectual police department.

Target hardening

Making one's home or business crime proof through the use of locks, bars, alarms, and other devices.

How can an individual living in a crime-ridden neighborhood rationally avoid victimization, under deviant place theory?

Move to a safer neighborhood.

Due to a bus breakdown, a schoolchild is forced to walk alone through a typically safe neighborhood to get home. The student falls prey to delinquents, who target him because he is wearing an expensive watch. This instance of victimization is best explained by ________.

Passive precipitation.

Deviant place theory

People become victims because they reside in socially disorganized, high-crime areas where they have the greatest risk of coming into contact with criminal offenders.

Lifestyle theory

People may become crime victims because their lifestyle increases their exposure to criminal offenders.

Victimologists

People who study the victim's role in criminal transactions.

Which of the following represents victimization by the justice system?

Police questioning a rape victim and insinuating that the victim was at fault.

Which of the following disorders (video case) could afflict a survivor of gun violence, resulting in depression and anxiety?

Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Psychological reaction to a highly stressful event; symptoms may include depression, anxiety, flashbacks, and recurring nightmares.

Why do fraudsters often target the elderly?

The elderly are seen as easy targets.

Victim precipitation theory

The idea that the victim's behavior was the spark that ignited the subsequent offense, as when the victim abused the offender verbally or physically.

Crime career costs are:

The imputed value of money an individual loses by engaging in crime rather than in legal activities.

Motivated offenders

The potential offenders in a population. According to rational choice theory, crime rates will vary according to the number of motivated offenders.

Which of the following, on its own, can likely serve to reduce the chances for victimization in a public space, as outlined by routine activities theory?

The presence of uniformed law enforcement officers.

Victim compensation

The victim ordinarily receives compensation from the state to pay for damages associated with the crime. Rarely are two compensation schemes alike, however, and many state programs suffer from lack of both adequate funding and proper organization within the criminal justice system. Compensation may be made for medical bills, loss of wages, loss of future earnings, and counseling. In the case of death, the victim's survivors can receive burial expenses and aid for loss of support.

Passive precipitation

The view that some people become victims because of personal and social characteristics that make them attractive targets for predatory criminals.

Active precipitation

The view that the source of many criminal incidents is the aggressive or provocative behavior of victims.

Routine activities theory

The view that the volume and distribution of predatory crime are closely related to the interaction of suitable targets, motivated offenders, and capable guardians.

What is the importance of victim impact statements in distributing justice to an offender?

They allow victims to recount the ordeal, which can be used to influence sentencing.

Chronic victimization

Those who have been crime victims maintain a significantly higher chance of future victimization than people who have remained nonvictims. Most repeat victimizations occur soon after a previous crime has occurred, suggesting that repeat victims share some personal characteristic that makes them a magnet for predators.

In most states, the status of sex offenders is now made public. Why?

To let the public know the identity and the whereabouts of sex offenders.

The state providing funds to a victimized individual to pay for damages associated with a crime is known as:

Victim compensation.

How do victim costs differ from intangible costs?

Victim costs cannot be estimated.

Regarding victimization, what does Ms. Kerai's (video case) experience reveal?

Victimization as a result of crime can impact those who they themselves were not personally victimized.

Victimization

While the crime is still fresh in their minds, victims may find that the police interrogation following the crime is handled callously, with innuendos or insinuations that they were somehow at fault. Victims have difficulty learning what is going on in the case; property is often kept for a long time as evidence and may never be returned. Some rape victims report that the treatment they receive from legal, medical, and mental health services is so destructive that they cannot help but feel "re-raped."