CJ 1010

Final Report/Essay
Wooley

PSYCHOLOGY OF A
VICTIM
Alexandrea Higgs

Psychology of the Victim

The criminal justice system has promised to protect the citizens of America from threats.
But what happens to the victim? In most cases, focus is heavily placed on offender and the
victim is often placed to the side. Money is often given to the victims family in order to
compensate for the loss of their loved one. This has drastically changed the perspective of the
criminal justice system in the eyes of the public.
A report conducted by the National Institute Justice proved that in 2006, 16 million
criminal victimizations happened to those over the age of twelve in the United States. (National
Institute of Justice). Most of the offenders went to jail or on probation, but whatever happened to
the victims?
There was no information found about the victims.
To understand the theory of victimology, it has to be defined. Merriam-Webster
Dictionary defines victimology as, the study of the ways in which the behavior of crime victims
may have lead or contributed to their victimization. The study of victimology focuses on the
victim. Why they were the victim, how many people were victims of a crime, and how they dealt
with crime.
First, why someone becomes the victim. A majority of the time, victims of crimes are
random. While it could be a random thief from a neighborhood car or a planned crime,
somebody is a victim. The classical theory of criminology is the belief that someone chooses to
commit a crime. With that, people will choose to commit a crime just to do so. Usually, the

victim is an average person off the streets. 76% of crimes committed in the year 2006 were
property crimes and the other percentage was violent crime.
There is a theory called repeat victimization stating that someone who is a victim, will
have a higher chance of becoming a victim once more, usually referred to as near repeat. The
crime doesnt have to be of the same nature, meaning it doesnt have to be robbery each time,
and happens to the same person.
Normally the reason why a person becomes a victim more than once is pure coincidence.
Some of the near repeats is because some victims search for the crime. Some are part of gangs or
are involved with circumstances which can lead to victimization once more. While repeat
victimization is an unfortunate event, the rise in crime can aid in intelligence lead policing.
(Oxford Bibliography). By knowing what crimes occur, in what area they do occur and what type
of person is normally the victim. Repeat victimization can also show where crime happens more
often. Gangs for example, tend to have one area in which they will commit crime. If repeat
victimization occurs, then intelligence lead policing can locate the source of higher gang activity.
While it is hard to know who can become a victim, there are tips that can help one try to
avoid becoming the victim of crime. Normally the techniques are to avoid sexual assault or
robbery one someone is by themselves. A majority of the ways of avoidance are by not entering
the dangerous area and by not drawing attention to themselves. The easiest way is, "[s]ubtle,
nonverbal cues can sometimes make the difference in whether you're targeted or not," says
Georgia State University psychologist Volkan Topalli. (Psychology Today).

Next, is how many people a year are victims of a crime. Twice a year, the Department of
Justice conducts a survey to estimate how many people are victims of any sort of crime. It
doesnt matter the severity of the crime, whether it be sexual assault, murder, or simple thief.
The survey is self-reported, where those interviewed are asked about the experience and
details of any crime experienced six months. A highlight of the survey is it reports not only on
crimes reported to the police, but ones that werent. In 2014, 87% of the participants answered
yes to being a victim of a crime. (Bureau of Justice Statistics).
This survey is a way for those who were victims of a crime to issue a report without the
fear of being found out. Research found in 2012 revealed that over three million crimes go
unreported each year. 39% of those survived didnt report the crime because they felt like the
police wouldnt do anything to help. Another 13% said that they didnt want to report the crime
because they felt fear from those who had hurt them would come back. (AllGov). The two
statistics have one thing in common: the victim doesnt feel protected.
The largest criticism of the criminal justice system is that the victims dont feel protected.
They dont feel like they matter in the eyes of law enforcement. The first part is due to the fact
that law enforcement didnt protect them to begin with. The second part is due to the idea that
after the crime has been committed, the police wont do anything to help. Most believe that law
enforcement doesnt do their job or that the process takes too long for any retribution to be done.
The idea that those who were victims will become offenders themselves is a true, yet
false statement. While it is true that those who were victimized in the past can become criminals
in the future, it is not the same for everyone. Some people will have no criminal background
could one day go on a rash decision and do something out of character. In 1990s, a study was

done at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, it was found that 90% of women institutionalized
were past victims of sexual or physical abuse. 93% of them were convicted of killing those who
had committed sexual acts. (Correctional Association). It has been tested in the past that those
who were abused as children or in adulthood would develop these tendencies later in life.
While the above study proved the theory, the next study proved the opposite. A study was
conducted by observing children who were sexually abused. The researchers were careful to find
children who were abused before delinquency. They chose a control group that had family
problems ranging from poverty, unemployment, alcoholism or drug-related abuse. The
hypothesis going into the test was that those with a history of dysfunction, would become
dysfunctional later in life. The opposite was the conclusion. Most of the people observed, ended
up not having a criminal record. What the program proved was while the children had a higher
chance of committing a crime, most chose not to. The test proved the classical theory of
criminology: one has to choose to commit a crime. (Correctional Association).
After the crime has been committed, victims can suffer from PSTD or post traumatic
stress disorder. While PTSD is more commonly associated with veterans after returning from
war, it is also commonly found in victims of traumatic crime such as; sexual assault, kidnapping
or murder. PTSD has prolonged effects on the human psyche. The FBI has recognized the issue
and has offered help to those who have been injured. Most of the advice given is normally
associated with helping those with any kind of trauma, not just being victimized after a crime.
(FBI Victims).
The Victims of Crime website has also stated that time after the crime can be equally as
traumatizing. There is a secondary trauma that can happen which is normally referred to as
second injuries. This trauma is normally occurred when the victim feels a lack of support from

those around them. It could be the police, friends, or even the victims own family. Second injury
is normally felt when the victim feels like nobody else understands what they had gone through.
Help is normally available in the form of support groups for those who just need to talk.
One of the coping mechanisms given to the victim is the unorthodox Victim-Offender
Mediator. This technique is used to help not only the victim, but the committer as well. It gives
the victim a chance to express their own physical and emotional abuse to the offender while the
offender, hopefully, can see the consequences of their actions. The program has seen great
progress as the United States has over 290 programs in place and Europe has almost 500. The
goal of the program is not to seek physical retribution, but to help both parties find peace.
Successfully, the program has had the intended affect. Victims were seen to feel less likely to be
victimized after confronting their original offender. (National Department of Justice).
The criminal justice system is not perfect. While it is good to focus on the criminals and
making sure that they are unable to commit a crime again, focus needs to be placed on the
victims. Victims of crimes can suffer mental trauma. Some turn to food, hoarding and even,
crime. Most are left with mental scaring. Focus should not be taken away from ensuring that
those who commit crimes and serving the time, but more emphasis should be placed on the
victim. If one of the duties of a law enforcement official is to protect the community, those who
have been hurt need to be protected as well. Retributions maybe fine in some cases, but how can
one place a monetary amount on human life and/or security?

Bibliography
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Hustmyre, Chuck, and Jay Dixit. "How to Avoid Being a Victim." Psychology Today. N.p., 20
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