San Diego Padres Owner Net Worth, New York State Board Of Pharmacy Inspection Checklist, Lister Hospital, Stevenage Deaths, Articles T

Victimology is essential to criminology because a victim is needed for a crime to occur. Low-income households are more likely to be located in or near dangerous areas of town, and individuals from poor socioeconomic backgrounds are less capable of moving away from these dangerous areas. In the following section, we will examine some common theories and perspectives used to explain why victimisation occurs such as victim precipitation theory and routine activity theory. The more frequently a person ventures into bad neighborhoods where violent crime is common, the greater the risk of victimization. 0000008724 00000 n Critical victimology combines the concept of the ideal victim with intersectionality in an effort to deconstruct victim blaming by calling attention to the ways race, gender, class, and other identities shape social constructions of victimisation (Spencer & Walklate, 2016). One of the first known scientific studies of victims of crime was a doctoral dissertation by Nagel (1949), a Dutch scholar whose work was interrupted by WWII and published afterwards (Kirchhoff, 2010). A recent Canadian court decision in a sexual assault case highlights victim blaming from within the criminal justice system. Forensic Psychology vs. Criminal Psychology: Whats the Difference? This theory is based on three elements of why the crime occurs: a motivated offender, suitable target, and lack of guardians (Burkey, T., 2015). Because it is a feature of crime, it is my contention that it should be studied further so that we can develop a better understanding of the types of precipitation that exist, and also the factors that contribute to precipitative actions. The victimologycrime prevention nexus provides the foundation for a comprehensive and, hopefully, long-lasting approach to addressing the publics risk of being victimized and aids individuals who are targeted by a criminal act. How is victim precipitation theory related to crime? It also helps in the understanding of how institutions such as family and home, school, religion, government, and the community contributes to the development of individuals. These groups are often targeted because of the unintentional threat they pose to authority. She holds an MA and a BA in History from Sam Houston State University. Indeed, Schafer [3] directly offers this as a justification for the development of his own typology: although one might disagree with the idea that proposes to assess the victims responsibility, this concept may operationally cover the pivotal issue in the criminal-victim relationship that, after all, is the critical problem of understanding and judging crime. Subculture of Violence Theory | Origin, Criticisms & Examples, Theories of Punishment | Retribution, Restitution & Arguments. If there is a problem with doing this from the point of view of understanding the various roles in the crime, then it would be reasonable to assert that your problem is with the law, not with the theory of victim precipitation per se. The "ideology of victim precipitation" by blaming the individual crime Risk factors of victimization include living in high-crime areas, lacking strong guardianship, and residing in social disorganization. 0000023880 00000 n A victim is certainly entitled to reparation, restitution and safeguards of his rights and criminal justice would look hollow if justice is not done to the victim of the crime. The victim precipitation theory states that some people are more prone to initiating or causing confrontation than others. Yale University Press, USA, pp. - Definition & History, National Endowment for the Arts: History & Controversy, The Food and Drug Administration: Definition, History & Purpose, What is Campaign Finance Reform? These early typologies of victimisation, in which precipitation played a part, were often developed by lawyers attempting to understand how much responsibility the victim carried relative to that of the offender.