Victimology: Victimisation and Victims' Rights

by Wolhuter; Lorraine

• ISBN13: 9781845680459
• ISBN10: 1845680456
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2008-07-30
• Publisher: Routledge-Caven

Summary

How should the needs of victims of crime be met by the criminal justice system? Have the rights of victims been neglected in order to ensure that a defendant is brought to 'justice'? Who are the victims of crime and why are they targeted? This new book examines the theoretical arguments concerning victimization before examining who victims actually are and the measures taken by the criminal justice system to enhance their position. Particular attention is paid to the victimization of women, LGBT persons, minority ethnic persons and the elderly. The book engages in a detailed exposition of the law's response to such victimization, focusing on the measures adopted in international human rights law, by the Council of Europe, and in English law and policy. It also assesses alternative models of victim participation in criminal proceedings in European jurisdictions such as Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach which encompasses law, criminology and social policy, the book isideal for undergraduates taking an option in victimology, race and crime, or gender and crime, whatever their disciplinary background.

Author Biography

David Denham is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Wolverhampton.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. xii
Table of Cases	p. xiv
Table of Statutes	p. xvi
Introduction	p. 1
Key developments in victimology, policy and practice	p. 1
Overview of the book	p. 6
Victimology and victimisation	p. 11
Theories of victimology	p. 13
Introduction	p. 13
Positivist victimology	p. 14
Conservative criminology and the victims of predatory crime	p. 17
Radical victimology	p. 20
Marxist victimology: Corporate crime and its victims	p. 20
Left realist criminology: a synthesis of theories of crime and victimisation	p. 21
Feminist concerns with the victims of crime	p. 23
Critical victimology	p. 26
Criminology or sociology of harm?	p. 28
Conclusion	p. 30
Questions for further discussion	p. 31
Victimisation	p. 33
Introduction	p. 33
The extent of victimisation	p. 34
National crime victim surveys	p. 34
Local crime surveys	p. 38
Victims of corporate crime	p. 40
Repeat victimisation	p. 43
The impact of victimisation	p. 44
Fear of crime	p. 46
Secondary victimisation	p. 47
Conclusion	p. 49
Questions for further discussion	p. 50
Women victims - domestic terror and female victimisation	p. 51
Introduction	p. 51
Rape and sexual assault	p. 51
The extent of rape and sexual assault	p. 51
The impact on victims	p. 53
Secondary victimisation	p. 55
The rate of attrition	p. 55
The court process	p. 58
Male rape	p. 59
Domestic violence	p. 62
The nature and extent of domestic violence	p. 62
Domestic violence against men: theoretical paradigm or paradox?	p. 63
The impact on victims	p. 65
Minority ethnic women	p. 67
Secondary victimisation	p. 68
Responses of the police and the CPS	p. 68
The court process	p. 72
Conclusion	p. 72
Questions for further discussion	p. 73
Victims from minority ethnic groups	p. 75
Introduction	p. 75
Ethnicity, victimisation and social distribution	p. 75
Extent of 'ordinary' criminal victimisation	p. 75
Fear of crime	p. 77
Racially motivated crime	p. 78
Definition	p. 78
Distribution of crime and impact on victims	p. 79
Impact on victims	p. 82
Victims in rural areas	p. 83
Religiously motivated crime	p. 84
The perpetrators of hate	p. 85
Secondary victimisation	p. 87
State victimisation: police stops and searches of minority ethnic persons	p. 90
Conclusion	p. 99
Questions for further discussion	p. 100
LGBT and elderly victims	p. 101
Introduction	p. 101
LGBT victims	p. 101
Nature, extent and impact of LGBT victimisation	p. 102
Secondary victimisation	p. 106
Elderly victims	p. 107
History of elder victimisation	p. 107
Nature and extent of elder victimisation: senescent victimisation	p. 108
Victimisation in private	p. 109
Victimisation in private institutions	p. 111
The hidden nature of elder victimisation in private: under-reporting levels	p. 113
Victimisation in public	p. 113
Conclusion	p. 115
Questions for further discussion	p. 116
Legal responses to victimisation	p. 117
The development of a victims' rights discourse	p. 119
Introduction	p. 119
European jurisprudence on victims' rights	p. 120
Council of Europe	p. 120
European Court of Human Rights	p. 122
Independent civil right to a fair trial	p. 122
Incorporation of victims' rights/interests into defendant's right to fair trial	p. 123
Positive obligations	p. 125
English law and policy on victims' rights	p. 128
The position prior to the Victims' Code	p. 129
The Victims' Code	p. 130
The role of the courts	p. 131
Judicial review	p. 131
Human rights jurisprudence concerning victims	p. 133
Towards enforceable rights	p. 139
Conclusion	p. 141
Questions for further discussion	p. 142
Support and assistance	p. 143
Introduction	p. 143
Council of Europe instruments	p. 143
'Official' agencies	p. 144
Victim Support	p. 144
Services	p. 145
Advocacy	p. 146
Community and inter-agency work	p. 148
Witness Support	p. 149
Witness Service	p. 149
Witness Care Units	p. 150
'Unofficial' agencies	p. 150
Organisations responding to gender-based violence	p. 151
Organisations responding to racism and Islamophobia	p. 152
Organisations responding to homophobic and transphobic victimisation	p. 153
Conclusion	p. 154
Questions for further discussion	p. 154
Information, respect and recognition, and protection	p. 155
Introduction	p. 155
Council of Europe instruments	p. 155
English law and policy	p. 157
Pre-trial process	p. 157
Police	p. 158
Crown Prosecution Service	p. 158
Court process	p. 159
Witness Care Units	p. 160
Court Service	p. 160
Measures to reduce secondary victimisation in court	p. 161
Release of offenders	p. 169
Effectiveness of measures	p. 170
Conclusion	p. 171
Questions for further discussion	p. 172
Victim participation	p. 173
Introduction	p. 173
Forms of participation	p. 174
Council of Europe instruments	p. 176
Victim participation in the UK	p. 177
Decisions to prosecute	p. 177
Decisions to accept pleas	p. 178
Victim Personal Statements	p. 179
VPS scheme	p. 179
Opposing views on VPS	p. 180
Family Impact Statements and lawyers for families of homicide victims	p. 182
Victim participation in the US	p. 183
Decisions to prosecute	p. 183
Decisions to accept pleas	p. 183
Victim participation in sentencing	p. 184
Victims' lawyers	p. 185
European models of victim participation	p. 186
Party and non-party victims	p. 187
Victim participation in the pre-trial stage	p. 187
Non-party victims' lawyers	p. 189
Victim parties	p. 189
Auxiliary prosecution	p. 189
Adhesion	p. 193
Victim participation and defendants' rights	p. 195
Conclusion	p. 198
Questions for further discussion	p. 198
Victim compensation	p. 199
Introduction	p. 199
European provisions	p. 199
Criminal injuries compensation	p. 201
Origins and development	p. 201
Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995	p. 202
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 1996	p. 203
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2001	p. 208
Proposals for reform	p. 209
Compensation by the offender	p. 210
Compensation orders	p. 210
Reparation orders	p. 212
Surcharges	p. 213
Recovery orders	p. 213
Conclusion	p. 214
Questions for further discussion	p. 214
Victims and restorative justice	p. 215
Introduction	p. 215
Restorative justice paradigm	p. 215
International and European provisions	p. 218
Restorative justice in England and Wales	p. 220
Government policy	p. 220
Restorative justice initiatives	p. 221
Victim-offender mediation (VOM)	p. 221
RJ conferencing	p. 222
Family Group Conferences (FGCs)	p. 225
Reparation orders	p. 226
Referral orders	p. 227
Effectiveness of restorative justice for victims	p. 228
Conclusion	p. 231
Questions for further discussion	p. 232
Rights of victims from socially disadvantaged groups	p. 233
Introduction	p. 233
Gender-based victimisation	p. 233
Human rights obligations	p. 233
Rape	p. 235
Police and forensic services	p. 235
Crown Prosecution Service	p. 236
Court process	p. 237
Domestic violence	p. 238
Domestic violence as 'real' crime	p. 238
Support and assistance to victims	p. 240
Minority ethnic victims	p. 241
Racially and religiously motivated victimisation	p. 242
Human rights obligations	p. 242
Racially and religiously motivated offences	p. 244
Criminal justice responses	p. 246
Police and multi-agency partnerships	p. 246
Crown Prosecution Service	p. 248
Court process	p. 249
Homophobic and transphobic victimisation	p. 250
Human rights instruments	p. 250
Offences	p. 251
Criminal justice responses	p. 252
Police and multi-agency responses	p. 252
Crown Prosecution Service	p. 253
Elder abuse	p. 254
Human rights dimensions	p. 255
English law and policy	p. 256
American law	p. 256
Enforcement of state duties	p. 258
Anti-discrimination legislation	p. 259
Human Rights Act 1998	p. 261
Conclusion	p. 263
Questions for further discussion	p. 264
Conclusion - A victims' rights model for the criminal process	p. 265
Bibliography	p. 270
Index	p. 293
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