1. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 0 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Victims and Victimization Lesson 3

2. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 1 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Victims and Victimization Lesson Overview Defining Victims and Studying Victimization Patterning of Victimization Explaining Victimization Costs and Consequences of Victimization Victims in the Criminal Justice System Victimization by White-Collar Crime

3. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 2 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Defining Victims and Studying Victimization Victimology: The study of victims –Generally focuses on street crime Victimization Crime victim: One who suffers because of a crime

4. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 3 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan The Patterning of Victimization Geographical Patterns –Western households have higher victimization rates than other regions –Urban areas have higher victimization rates than suburban or rural areas Highest rates of violent crime Highest rates of property crime

5. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 4 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Social Patterns –Gender, Race, and Ethnicity  Males have higher victimization rate than females  Especially likely to be homicide victims  Women have much higher rate for rape victimization  African Americans have higher violent victimization rates than whites  African Americans 6x more likely than whites to be homicide victims The Patterning of Victimization

6. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 5 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan

7. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 6 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan

8. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 7 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Social patterns –Family income  The lower the income, the higher the rate of victimization –Age  Young people more likely to be victims of violent crime than older people –Race, Gender, Age Combined  High victimization rates for young black males  Lowest rate for older white women The Patterning of Victimization

9. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 8 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Strangers v. Nonstrangers –Strangers commit only about one-third (of aggravated/simple assault, rape, robbery combined according to NCVS)  Remainder committed by friends, family members, and acquaintances  Strangers commit 44% of men’s victimizations and 27% of women’s  Nonstrangers commit 70% of women’s victimizations and 49% of men’s The Victim-Offender Relationship

10. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 9 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan The Victim-Offender Relationship Intimate-Partner Violence –Refers to any rape/sexual assault, robbery or aggravated/simple assault committed by someone with a relationship to the victim –Women are much more likely to suffer violence at the hands of intimates

11. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 10 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Whites account for majority of all offenses Proportion of offenders perceived as black exceeds their proportion of national population For all violent crimes involving one offender, more than half are perceived as being under 30 yrs. old Violent crime is intraracial (occurs within same race) Perceived Race, Gender, and Age of Offenders

12. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 11 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs –Offenders under influence in just over half of all violent crime Time and Place of Occurrence –Close to half of all violent crimes and property crimes occur at night –Largest proportions of violent crime occur near victim’s home Crime Characteristics

13. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 12 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Crime Characteristics Use of Weapons –Weapons are used in about 20% of all violent crimes 36% firearms 27% knives Remainder are blunt objects such as clubs or rocks Victim Self-Protection and Resistance –Almost 60% of violent crime victims try to stop the crime 25% struggle with/threaten the offender 16% run away/hide 11% try to persuade the offender not to commit the crime

14. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 13 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Explaining Victimization Two phenomena: –Why do some locations have higher rates than others? –Why are some individuals more likely than others to commit crime? Lifestyle and Routine Activities Theory –Both developed around 1970s –Both assume habits, lifestyles, and behavioral patterns of potential victims enhance their contact with offenders, increasing chances a crime will occur

15. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 14 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Lifestyle and Routine Activities Theory Some lifestyles put people more at risk for becoming victims –Spending much time outside the home Routine activities theory: People engage in regular activities that increase chance of victimization –Three components of theory  Presence of attractive target  Presence of likely offender  Absence of “guardianship” Victim precipitation: To some degree victims are responsible for their own victimization

16. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 15 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan People become victims because they are committing crime themselves –Reasons:  Criminals tend to spend time in high-crime areas and with other criminals  Their crimes may prompt a victim or the victims friends and family to retaliate by attacking the offender  Because offenders cannot call the police, other offenders know this and act accordingly Deviant Lifestyles and Victimization

17. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 16 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Living in close proximity to high-crime areas increases chances of becoming victim Hot spots: riskiest locations for crime; generally poor, disadvantaged neighborhoods –Bars and taverns help turn some areas into hot spots –Insufficient sense of community Physical Proximity and Victimization

18. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 17 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Low Self-Control and Lack of Social Relationships Childhood Problems –Behavioral disturbances –Sexual abuse –Parental conflict Mental Disorder Puberty Individual Traits

19. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 18 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Those involved in offending Live near hot spots Chronic victims NCVS reports this is fairly common occurrence Many study focus on adolescents Repeat Victimization

20. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 19 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Lifestyle theory helps explain why young people have higher rates of victimization than older people –They spend more time away from home and more apt to engage in deviant lifestyles Lifestyle and routine activities theory less applicable to violence in the home Explaining Demographic Variation and Victimization

21. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 20 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Simple assaults, sexual assaults Male students have higher victimization rate for certain offenses College students lower victimization rate than non-students in 18-24 group The Victimization of College Students

22. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 21 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Routine activities theory Research is lacking in this area Suffer from mental and physical health problems which may attribute to victimization The Victimization of the Homeless

23. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 22 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Costs and Consequences of Victimization Economic and Medical Costs and Consequences –Stats come from various sources: NCVS, UCR –Information is inexact –Direct costs: loss to the victim of any money, property stolen/damaged, medical expenses, lost wages –Indirect costs: lost productivity, police expenses, victim services

24. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 23 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Economic and Medical Costs and Consequences –Only about 18% property crime victims recover all losses (NCVS) –Some crime victims lost time from work –Violent victimization during adolescence has long- term income consequences –More than one-third of all NCVS robbery and one- fifth of assault victims are physically injured The Costs and Consequences of Victimization

25. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 24 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Psychological Consequences –Depression –Loss of self-esteem –Sexual dysfunction (rape victims) –Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) The Costs and Consequences of Victimization

26. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 25 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Social Consequences –Violent crimes have more serious social and behavioral consequences than property crimes –Do these consequences vary by gender, race, social class, and age? –Stranger vs. nonstranger: More serious psychological consequences for victim? The Costs and Consequences of Victimization

27. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 26 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Behavioral Consequences –Avoidance: Victim reduces amount of time spent with other people –Vicarious: Victimization of family member affects children who are more likely themselves to engage in delinquency because of strain The Costs and Consequences of Victimization

28. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 27 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Victims in the Criminal Justice System Victims and Criminal Case Outcomes –Rape victims are viewed with skepticism –Many victims feel shut out or ignored –Recent increase in victim involvement –Victim-witness advocate programs –Victim-impact statements

29. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 28 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Prosecutors prefer cases with “good victims” (well-educated, articulate, presentable to the jury) Victim may influence prosecutors’ decision to go to trial Victim-offender relationship Victims and Criminal Case Outcomes

30. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 All rights reserved 29 Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 5/e Steven E. Barkan Victimization by White-Collar Crime Most research focuses on street crime NCVS does not collect info on white-collar crime More likely to report credit card fraud than free-prize scandals