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STUDENT REPLY #1 Katlan Hatton
There are four main theories of Victimology: routine activity, deviant place, lifestyle, and victim participation. The routine activity theory suggests that there must be three factors that reflect regular activities in a normal lifestyle. These factors increase the likelihood of being victimized. Deviant place theory proposes that certain places pose higher risk for being victimized especially when someone frequents that location. Lifestyle theories suggest that some criminals target their victims based on their lifestyle. If you have ever watched Criminal Minds then you can compare this theory to when they say someone was a high-profile victim, because they lived a life (like abusing drugs or prostitution) that gave a higher risk for being a victim. The victim participation theory states that some people may instigate or start a conflict that results in their victimization.
I live in a small town that tends to have a lot of drama and after learning about the different theories of victimology I believe victim participation could be the main reason for victimization in my town. Although you could find many crimes and link any of the other three theories as to why the victim became a victim, victim participation would best fit majority of the crimes committed. In the past 10 years I can recall many crimes committed where the victim had instigated a fight or was committed out of jealousy due to the victim finding success in their life.
There are many ways to apply concepts from the victim participation theory to protect myself from being victimized. Jones, J. R. explains that the behaviors with victim participation can include alcohol or drugs that can cause the victim to act out (2017). One way to apply the concepts of this theory is to make sure, if I am out drinking, that I do not overdo it and can still be in full control of my actions. I can also choose my battles wisely and not start fights or arguments that are not necessary and could possibly put my life in danger. Another way would be to not engage with people who tend to instigate fights or get aggressive when drinking. The theory also states that gaining success in your life can lead to victimization. With taking this concept into account I cannot announce big work promotions online or to other people. I can also keep my personal life more private to not be sought out at a victim in a crime due to jealousy or other motives.
Law enforcement can also use these theories to decrease violent victimization by considering the theory that best fits their location and taking preventative measures. For example, if they are in an area where the lifestyle theory best fits victimization, they can patrol more often in the high traffic area for drugs and prostitution. Law enforcement could also do daily check ins to see if any of the sex workers are missing or have had trouble with customers. If the area fits more with deviant place theory, they can also increase p
Assignment: Apply Victimization Theory
When confronted with a process or practice that impedes your ability to help a victim, how would you respond? You could go around the practice or process. You could let a bad practice or process keep you from serving citizens in the best possible way. Or you could propose a better process that combines your experience with theories that support your idea. Examples of processes or practices could include interview techniques that are sensitive to victim trauma or making an effort to improve response times in key areas. In this Assignment, you propose a process or practice change that is supported by a victimization theory.
Karmen, A. (2020). Crime victims: An introduction to victimology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
OK IN THIS ASSIGNMENT YOU FIND A CRIMINAL CASE THAT WILL ALIGN WITH AT LEAST ONE OTHE PERSPECTIVES BELOW. PLEASE READ FROM TOP TO BOTTOM TO UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT AND THE WORK THAT’S NEEDED TO BE DONE TO COMPLETE IT. I HAVE ADDED A SAMPLE PAPER FOR YOU AS A GUIDE TO HELP YOU PUT YOUR WORK TOGETHER MAKE SURE YOU REFERENCE ALL YOUR WORK AND MAKE SURE YOU SLOW DOWN AND MAKE SURE THE ESSAY READING MAKES SINCE BEFORE SENDING IT BACK TO ME THIS WILL CUT DOWN ALL A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH AND SAVE TIME. ALSO, I HAVE ADDED SOME READING MATERIAL TO HELP YOU PUT THE PAPER TOGETHER SO PLEASE SEE ALL THE ATTACHMENTS…THANKS
To prepare:
Find a criminal case that aligns with at least one of the perspectives in the following theories:
Routine activity
Deviant place
Lifestyle
Victim participation
By Day 7
As a way to address the crime that occurred in the criminal case you found, write a proposal for a new or changed process or practice that is based on a victimization theory.
Part I (250–500 words)
Explain how the applicable theory or theories could apply to the case you found.
Part II (500–750 words)
Choose one theory of focus that applies to the case.
Identify an existing process or practice that would benefit from a change.
For the purpose of this assignment, consider a process or practice to be an action that can be taken at the day-to-day level, such as employing certain interview techniques, increasing patrols, improving response times, etc.
Explain why that change would be beneficial.
Propose the following to address the circumstances in your chosen case:
A theory-based process or practice change that could help prevent another occurrence of the crime.
A theory-based process or practice change that could improve outcomes for the victim.
Explain how this type of change could create positive social change.
Be sure to draw upon examples from the case you selected and the Learning Resources to support your response.
1
Apply Victimization Theory
Ashley M. Mason
Department of Psychology, Walden University
CRJS: 4203 Victimology
Dr. Jennifer Grimes
December 20, 2020
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APPLY VICTIMIZATION THEORY 2
A criminal case that aligns with the perspectives of the routine activity theory is the
kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. Routine activity theory can include both the offender and the
victim and occurs when three elements converge 1) a motivated offender, in the case of Elizabeth
Smart her motivated offender was a man named Brain David Mitchell, 2) a suitable target,
Elizabeth Smart being the target of choice for Brian Mitchell, and 3) the absence of a capable
guardian, the only other witness to Elizabeth Smarts abducting was her younger sister who she
shared a room with (Cohen & Felson, 1979 as cited in Purpura, 2013). Smith & Brooks (2013)
further argued that the routine activity theory describes how likely offenders come to commit a
crime partly based on their normal everyday activities as routine travel and activist can bring a
motivated offender into contact with a desirable yet vulnerable victim who does not have the
appropriate guardianship necessary to keep them safe. In the case of Elizabeth Smart, she was
not chosen as the victim based on her routine activity; she happened to be someone that was
exposed to her offender during his normal activity. Brain Mitchell was a man that completed
work on the Smarts home as a handyman but often referred to himself by another name. If he
were never hired by the Smarts for handy work, it leaves the question if Elizabeth still would
have been abducted? Why did he decide to take Elizabeth and not her younger sister who was
‘sleeping’ in her bed in the same room as Elizabeth?
Parents of a child that has gone missing or has been abducted are the first point of action; the
sooner they call the authorities and notify them that their child is missing the better chance the
authorities have at reuniting the child back with their family. The next point of action are the
authorities, for all missing persons, officers log the personal information into the Nation Crime
Information Center Missing Person File which is a searchable database (Adams-Mott, 2020).
Depending on the severity of circumstances that led up to the kidnapping decides what
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APPLY VICTIMIZATION THEORY 3
authorities do next. For instance, if a person like Elizabeth Smart was abducted from their home
in the middle of the night in a violent way, authorities would send out units to look for the
missing child, set up media coverage, or have ground units go into h
216
Chapter 15
Explaining Victimization
While criminological theories attempt to explain why crimes
occur, victimization theories focus on the role of victims when crimes
transpire. Victimolgists are criminologists that study victims of crime.
In addition, they also examine the cost of victimization on society.
Victimization’s toll on society includes economic loss, blaming of the
victim, long-term stress, fear, and engaging in antisocial behaviors.
Economic loss is comprised of two types. Those types are system
loss and personal loss. System loss is the amount of money the
government spends on things such as treatment for victims, as well
as the cost of the criminal justice process due to the offense. Personal
loss refers to the cost suffered specifically by the victim, which can
include loss of income, deductibles, etc. Personal loss can be both
short-term and long-term.
Blaming the victim often occurs after one is victimized. Statements
by friends and family on the victim’s attire, location and time of
their presence, and/or the type of company the victim entertains are
frequently made to confirm the reason for the victimization. The
aforementioned is particularly true for victims of sexual assaults. Due
to blaming, it is extremely difficult for those who have been raped
to come forward and report their assault. Victims of rape often have
a feeling of being victimized multiple times because they are forced
to relive the horrible incident when telling the accounts to the police
and then again in court while being aggressively questioned.
Long-term stress often presents as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychological reaction to
PRiMARy ThEORiES Of CRiME AND ViCTiMizATiON
217
a highly stressful event; symptoms may include depression, anxiety,
flashbacks, and recurring nightmares (Siegel, 2015). Many associate
PTSD with the military and war. While PTSD does occur as a result
of combat, symptoms of PTSD can also start due to other traumatic
events such as being a victim of an armed robbery, a rape, a physical
assault, a home invasion, a kidnapping, etc.
Fear often results in victims changing their routines as a result
of fear of repeat victimization. People that experience a violent
victimization often experience the greatest level of fear as it relates
to being victimized again. This frequently leads to them becoming
horrified of being a victim of other crimes that have not occurred.
People that have been victimized (especially youth) have a higher
probability of engaging in antisocial behaviors. Youth that are victims
of sexual assaults who do not receive counseling often victimize
other kids. Also, youth that are physically abused or subjected to a
significant amount of physical punishment such as spankings are
more likely to engage in physical violence. Research suggests that the
aforementioned occurs because the juvenile learns to resolve conflic
Section II Extent, Theories, and Factors of Victimization
It was not exactly a typical night for Polly. Instead of studying at the library as she normally did during the week, she decided to meet two of her friends at a local
bar. They spent the evening catching up and drinking a few beers before they decided to head home. Because Polly lived within walking distance of the bar, she bid
her friends goodnight and started on her journey home. It was dark out, but because she had never confronted trouble in the neighborhood before—even though it
was in a fairly crime-ridden part of a large city—she felt relatively safe.
As Polly walked by an alley, two young men whom she had never seen before stepped out, and one of them grabbed her arm and demanded that she give them her
school bag, in which she had her wallet, computer, keys, and phone. Because Polly refused, the other man shoved her, causing her to hit her head, while the first man
grabbed her bag. Despite holding on as tightly as she could, the men were able to take her bag before running off into the night. Slightly stunned, Polly stood there
trying to calm down. Without her bag, which held her phone and keys, she felt there was little she could do other than continue to walk home and hope her
roommates were there to let her in. As she walked home, she wondered why she had such bad luck. Why was she targeted? Was she simply in “the wrong place at the
wrong time,” or did she do something to place herself in harm’s way? Although it is hard to know why Polly was victimized, we can compare her to other victims to
see how similar she is to them. To this end, a description of the “typical” crime victim is presented in this section. But what about why she was targeted?
Fortunately, we can use the theories presented in this section to understand why Polly fell victim on that particular night.
Photo 2.1 Polly, on her way home from the bar.
© iStockphoto.com/theprint
Measuring Victimization
Before we can begin to understand why some people are the victims of crime and others are not, we must first know how often victimization
occurs. Also important is knowing who the typical crime victim is. Luckily, these characteristics of victimization can be readily gleaned from
existing data sources.
Uniform Crime Reports
Begun in 1929, the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) shows the amount of crime known to the police in a year. Police departments around the
country submit to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) monthly law enforcement reports on crimes that are reported to them or that they
otherwise know about. The FBI then compiles these data and each year publishes a report called Crime in the United States, which details the
crime that occurred in the United States for the year. This report includes information on eight offenses, known as the Part I index offenses:
murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Arrest
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