CHAPTER 6 3666

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8/18/2015

Prepared by Emily Berthelot, University of Arkansas at Little Rock ©

CHAPTER SIX VICTIMS AND THE POLICE

1. To establish the ways in which victims suffer.

2. To find out what the criminal justice system can accomplish in

behalf of victims.

3. To become familiar with the ways that the police can serve

the best interests of crime victims.

4. To uncover issues and relationships where victims and law

enforcement agencies can find themselves in conflict rather

than in an alliance.

5. To become acquainted with the kind of evidence that is

useful to evaluate whether a police department is

effectively meeting the needs of victims in its jurisdiction.

6. To recognize the features of a victim-oriented police

department.

Learning Objectives

How the System Handles Victims

 Which CJ professionals are involved with victim issues?  Police

 Prosecutor

 Judges

 Corrections

The system often creates more conflict than resolution for victims.

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What Do Victims Want,

Punishment or Restitution?

Three Goals

1. Punish offenders

2. Compel lawbreakers to undergo

rehabilitative treatment

3. Repay victims for losses and injuries

they suffered

What Do Victims Want?

1. Punishment

 Make examples of criminal—provided

deterrence theory really works

 Incapacitate

 Prevents future vigilantism

 Retribution—morally sound practice

 Satisfies victim thirst for revenge

What Do Victims Want?

Punishment continued—

 Opponents of this utilitarian approach have documented that punishment:

 Results in high rates of imprisonment

 Is expensive

 Is often impractical

 Can be ineffective

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What Do Victims Want?

2. Rehabilitation  Some victims want professionals to help offenders

become decent, productive, law abiding citizens.  Do not want them to victimize others.

 Victims most likely to endorse rehabilitation if the offender was NOT a complete stranger.

 Victims may become dismayed when ―heavy handed‖ policies drive the offender to become more violent and attain new heights of antisocial

conduct.

What Do Victims Want?

3. Restitution

 Some victims want restitution rather than retribution or rehabilitation.

 Want to recoup losses and pay bills incurred as result of the crime.

 Loss of pay, medical expenses, household bills unpaid due to being out of work

Victims and the Police

 Reporting Incidents

 Most likely to report crimes involving

brandishing weapons, physical injuries, or

substantial financial loss.

 Of the violent crimes, aggravated assaults

are most often reported; rapes least often.

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Victims and the Police

T A B L E 6.1 Trends in Reporting Crimes to the Police,

Selected Years, 1973–2013

Victims and the Police

 Leading reasons for victims reporting violent crimes:

 ―to prevent future violence,‖ ―to stop the offender,‖ and ―to protect others.‖

 Smaller percentages of respondents’ motivations were:

 ―to catch and punish the offender‖ and ―to fulfill their civic duty.‖

 Citizens not required to inform authorities of crimes committed against them on their property.

 If they conspire or collaborate in a cover-up to conceal a serious crime, they can be charged with “misprision of a felony.”

Victims and the Police

 Responding Quickly  Want police to respond quickly and apprehend

offender

 Calls are prioritized by dispatchers

 Sometimes there is a lag in time between the crime and its discovery

 Confusion about whether an illegal act occurred

 Coping with emotional conflicts, personal trauma, and physical wounds, and then regain their composure before informing authorities

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Victims and the Police

Trends in Police Response Times to Violent Crimes, Selected

Years, 1990–2008

Police Investigating Complaints

 Victims anticipate that the police will be sensitive and

polite, treat them with dignity, respect their rights, and

make decisions in an open and transparent manner

(Murphy and Barkworth, 2014).  Handling Victims with Care

 Officers can seem disinterested, remote, unconcerned about plight of victim

 Police sometime doubt the victim’s credibility and discontinue investigation

 Emotional detachment is a necessary defense against burning out

Victims and the Police

 Many police departments conducting training to assist officers with victim issues

 Teach how to administer ―psychological first aid‖

 Learning importance of responding quickly, listening attentively, showing concern and refraining from challenging the victim’s versions of events

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Victims and the Police

 Complaints  Founded—verified by police

 Unfounded—police reject claims

 Defounded—police believe a crime occurred but not as serious as reported

Police accused of misclassification of above to make statistics look better for themselves and department or the workload was too great.

Victims and the Police

Investigating Complaints/Solving Crimes/Clearance

Rates

 Homicides— 64% overall cleared

 Larceny— 23% cleared successfully

 Vehicle Theft— 14% cleared successfully

 Robberies— 29% cleared

 Rape— 60% no attacker arrested

 Aggravated Assault— 42% no arrests made

Victims and the Police

T A B L E 6.2 Trends in Clearance Rates, United States,

Selected Years, 1953–2013

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Victims and the Police

 Law enforcement is under no comparable

constitutional pressure to read victims

their "rights" about their obligations and

opportunities.

Victims and the Police

 Recovering Stolen Property—unlike clearance

rates, no good data of recovery

 Data remains fairly consistent through the

years

 Recovered property often kept by police for

evidence to be used in a trial

Victims and the Police

 Victim-Oriented Police Department

 Victim advocacy units are a vital component

of a Community Oriented Police Department.

 Police departments must consider a revamp

of their operations and reconsider their

priorities to deal with the victim’s concerns.