Crime Victims Theory, Policy and Practice

by Spalek, Basia

• ISBN13: 9781403935427
• ISBN10: 1403935424
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-18
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This text offers a much-needed overview of theory and practice in the topical area of crime, victimization, and criminal justice policy. Spalek explores the impact of crime upon victims, looks at the establishment of victim initiatives, and pushes debates in the area forward. Engagingly presented with case studies and questions drawn from high-profile cases such as the Oklahoma City bombing.

Author Biography

Basia Spalek is a Lecturer in Criminal Justice within the Institute of Applied Social Studies, University of Birmingham.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	xi
Introducing Victimology	1	(13)
Introduction	1	(1)
Chapter summaries	2	(5)
Victimology	7	(1)
Victim definitions	8	(5)
Conclusion	13	(1)
Victimhood, Late Modernity and Criminal Justice	14	(19)
Introduction	14	(1)
Victims and criminal justice: an historical account	15	(1)
State responses to victimisation	16	(2)
Late modernity and claims for victim status	18	(2)
Victims' movements	20	(1)
Victim emotions and the social construction of victimhood	21	(1)
`Ideal Victims', therapy culture and the individualisation of pain	22	(2)
The official victims' movement: victims as consumers of the criminal justice system	24	(1)
`Ideal victims', official responses to victimisation and existential anxiety	25	(2)
Ideal victims and punitive responses to offenders	27	(2)
The unofficial victims' movement: `non-ideal victims', group identities and attachments	29	(2)
Conclusion	31	(1)
Questions	32	(1)
Victimology: Theoretical Perspectives	33	(14)
Introduction	33	(1)
Positivist victimology	33	(5)
Summary	38	(1)
Radical victimology	38	(4)
Feminist perspectives	42	(2)
Critical victimology	44	(1)
Conclusion	45	(1)
Questions	46	(1)
Researching Victimisation: Contesting Victimhood	47	(21)
Introduction	47	(1)
National crime surveys	47	(9)
Local crime surveys	56	(2)
Specificity in victim research	58	(1)
White-collar victimisation	59	(8)
Conclusion	67	(1)
Questions	67	(1)
Understanding Victimisation: Exploring Harms	68	(24)
Introduction	68	(1)
Victimisation: the psychological impact	69	(4)
Victimisation: the emotional impact	73	(2)
Victimisation: the behavioural impact	75	(2)
Victimisation: the physical impact	77	(1)
Victimisation: the financial impact	78	(2)
Summary	80	(1)
Influences upon the severity of the impact of victimisation	80	(4)
Summary	84	(1)
Diversity amongst victims	84	(6)
Conclusion	90	(1)
Questions	91	(1)
Official Responses to Victimisation	92	(23)
Introduction	92	(1)
Victim support	93	(5)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme	98	(5)
Compensation orders	103	(1)
The Victim's Charter	104	(1)
Victim statements	105	(1)
`Victim--Centeredness' and the work of agencies of the criminal justice system	106	(1)
The police service	106	(1)
Court initiatives	107	(2)
Probation work with victims	109	(1)
Diversity issues: challenging official constructions of victimhood	109	(3)
Summary	112	(1)
Conclusion	113	(1)
Questions	114	(1)
Victims' Needs and Victims' Rights	115	(19)
Introduction	115	(1)
Establishing and responding to victims' `needs'	116	(5)
Summary	121	(1)
The development of victims' rights	121	(6)
Victims as individual consumers and as active citizens	127	(2)
Victim identities, emotions and self-governmentality	129	(3)
Conclusion	132	(1)
Questions	133	(1)
Unofficial Victims' Movements: Re-defining Victimhood	134	(21)
Introduction	134	(1)
Victim subjectivities and white-collar victimisation	135	(6)
Summary	141	(2)
Hate crime, identity politics and victimisation	143	(4)
Summary	147	(2)
Institutional violence	149	(4)
Conclusion	153	(1)
Questions	154	(1)
New Perspectives within Victimology	155	(15)
Introduction	155	(1)
Victimology: restricted enquiries into, and notions of, victimhood	155	(3)
Victim identities, subjectivities and group collectivities	158	(5)
Victimhood, religiosity and spirituality	163	(3)
Victim research and emotionality	166	(2)
Conclusion	168	(1)
Questions	169	(1)
Conclusion: Future Developments and Implications	170	(7)
Introduction	170	(1)
Victim issues in contemporary western society	170	(3)
Social movements, identities and victim research	173	(3)
Conclusion	176	(1)
Notes	177	(3)
References	180	(15)
Index	195