Victimology Essay, Research Paper
I entered this class I had a fairly good idea of what to
expecWhent. The title speaks for itself. Victimology is the
study of those who have been victimized. As a criminal
justice major this is a class that I must take and also a
class that I was eager to take. I heard other students speak
highly about it.
In Law Enforcement an officer?s main goal should be to
do everything in their power to keep the public safe. As the
slogan goes ? To Protect and Serve.? An officer should put
the victims or potential victims ahead of all other things.
In too many situations the police do not give enough care to
the victims. I believe this is the cause of hostility
towards the law. After a person has been victimized, they
are feeling very betrayed and unsecure. They need someone
there to comfort them and restore safety. If they are
brushed off or not handled correctly they will give up hope
in the system.
When a person is victimized they do not only suffer
injuries or loss of property they can also suffer emotional
problems. These problems can effect their families and their
performance at the workplace. In many situations the victim
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of a crime is unaware of the services that are available to
them to help them deal with their loss. This should not be
happening. All victims should be informed of the services
that relate to their problems. They should not have to
continue suffering after they are victimized.
If a victim?s case is processed through the Criminal
Justice System they may be in for even more trouble. System
Participation is known as the Second Insult. ?The system
extracts further costs as soon as people enter into the
halls of justice.? (Doerner,pg 55). Some common problems of
system participants are time loss, reduction in income, and
transportation problems. Many victims say that the
courthouse experience left them frustrated and confused.
These conditions have resulted in a lack of participation on
the part of the victims.
These problems brought about the Victim- Witness
Management Projects. This began in the mid 1970?s. This
project was started by the federal government and it
provided funding for victim- witness assistance programs.
In class we received a handout that referred to the
problem of blaming the victim. Law Enforcement workers are
taught to never blame the victim. The handout was a short
story about a man who had his horse stolen from him. When
the people of the town learned of this they placed all blame
on the man himself. They scolded him and ridiculed him for
not being responsible. They called him names and the man was
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astonished by what was happening. He asked the people why
they blamed him and never mentioned the man who stole the
horse. The people had forgot the fact that a crime had been
committed and someone had suffered from it. They focused
their attention on what the victim could have done to
prevent this from happening.
In the class we also learned the importance of
determining the appropriate punishment for crimes because of
the problem of overcrowding in the prison system. We did an
exercise of reading cases and determining what punishment
would be suitable. We were told to try to hand out sentences
that did not require imprisonment. This was very difficult
to do. In order to do this we had to take a few questions
into account. Such as the seriousness of the offense, if the
criminal poses a danger to society, does the punishment fit
the crime, and will the punishment satisfy the community and
the victim. This was a group exercise which made it even
more difficult. There were several cases that group members
could not agree on. I found it very interesting to hear the
different views on certain subjects. These types of
exercises helped the students to communicate with each other
and it provided excitement in the class. There were also a
list of punishments that were to be handed out. These
punishments ranged from probation and house arrest to
psychological treatment to the death penalty. While I was
doing this exercise I tried to put myself in the shoes of
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the victim and think what would I want the punishment to be
if I had been violated. I believe that is the only way to
truly hand out a sentence. Many people do not put enough
thought into a situation until they are directly involved.
One of the cases involved a male who robbed two banks while
on parole for a similar offense. My group handed out the
sentence of 1 to 5 years imprisonment. After looking over
the questions that would help me determine a sentence I
determined that this man was not an extremely dangerous man
because he used no force in his actions. He did have a prior
record for bank robbery so we decided he would do it again.
We thought incarceration was suitable for this offender.
Another case involved a female schoolteacher who sexually
abused two male kindergarten students. She had been abused
as a child. She did not have a prior record. My group handed
out a sentence that included intensive probation supervision
and psychological treatment or counseling. In this case we
did not feel the offender deserved to be imprisoned. The
fact that she was abused as a child weighed heavily on the
group. We agreed that her past experiences had an impact on
her actions. We also agreed that since she had no prior
record there was a chance that she could be cured through
psychological help. The last case I am going to discuss
involved a male offender who killed a police officer during
a raid on a crack house. He had five prior convictions of
possession of crack cocaine. Our group felt strongly that
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this man should receive the death penalty. This man is
definitely a danger to society, he showed no respect at all
for the law, and his prior convictions showed that he could
not be rehabilitated in jail. This exercise showed me how
difficult it is to determine sentences for criminals. I now
have a great amount of respect towards the criminal court
system. When we saw a case that involved the rape of a woman
their was a difference in responses. The females in the
class wanted a very serious punishment while the men were
more lenient. This goes back to the fact that a person does
not care as much about something until it involves them
personally.
Rape is one of the most serious crimes and women have
every right to be enraged when they hear the cases of women
who are raped. We received a handout about a woman who wrote
a letter to a judge about her assault. The women explained
how she was violated both physically and mentally. She
explained that the man who harmed her was not a stranger but
a friend . She trusted this person and never expected to be
violated in the way she was. She explained that just because
this man did not have sex with her that does not mean she
was not raped. She spoke of the problems she had after the
incident. Such as migraines, dehydration, an ulcer, and
stress related back problems. She explained that in an hour
she lost her self- esteem, self- worth, and her pride. She
felt guilt, shame, and embarrassment after what had happened
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to her. She advised the judge that the man who did this to
her should receive counseling so it does not happen to
another women. This woman showed that she is very strong by
writing this letter. She received long- term damage and was
feeling very violated. By coming forward with this
information she was preventing this type of thing to happen
to another woman. There are many situations like this where
the woman will not report it to the police. Many women feel
to embarrassed to come forward. They get a feeling that they
are somewhat at fault. The victims believe that the police
will not believe them and treat them with inferiority. A
police officer should show the most compassion for a rape
victim. It not only helps the woman deal with her pain but
it will encourage other victims to come forward.
The class also did an exercise where we were asked to
act as a police officer who has been called to the scene of
a rape. We were also asked if we thought the officer in the
story took the right steps at the call. There were many
facts in this case that made the officer suspicious. When he
approached the door a woman came out who he knew was a
prostitute. She was not the person who reported the rape but
her friend inside was. The officer was told that the woman
was not a prostitute but her clothing gave off the
impression that she was. She did not appear to be injured
a
activity. She did know the name of her assailant. She
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described him as an acquaintance. This gave the officer more
suspicion that she was a prostitute. The officer told the
victim that it would be in her best interest if she did not
continue the allegations. He said that a jury would laugh
her out of the courtroom. He also told her that it would be
a waste of time to go to the hospital for a checkup. The
officer tells the known prostitute to make sure that her
friend gets payment in advance next time. Two days later the
officer finds out that there is a rapist on the loose in the
same area of the call. He raped a minister?s wife and
matches the description of the man at the earlier call. This
officer has made a big mistake. He made an assumption that
these women were lying. He should never have told them that
it was not worth it to continue the process. This officer
was very lazy and did not do his job. A police officer
should care for and provide the best service to anyone that
asks for it. He put himself in a situation that could have
been avoided. If I were in this situation I would admit my
mistake. The testimony of the first victim could help the
police in finding the criminal.
Every officer should go on each shift with the
intention of helping the victims in every way possible.
Officers do make a difference while they are on patrol. If
they do everything in their power to help people. It is
beneficial for officers to form personal relationships with
the victims. Many people look at the police as different
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than them. A personal relationship shows the victims that
they are human.
Domestic violence is also a very serious subject. There
are many households that may seem totally normal but in
reality are very dangerous environments. Victims of domestic
violence also tend to keep quiet due to fear of their
spouse. They also have the feeling that no one will believe
them. These victims have the feeling of imprisonment. 30 %
of all female homicides are results of domestic violence.
Another problem in today?s society is the abuse of the
elderly. This act is most likely the least reported of all
crimes. Officers must be aware that it can and does happen.
These victims look for pleas for help. One in every twenty
elderly are abused each year. That is approximately 1.5
million elderly who are harm in some way. The most
disturbing fact is that the majority of elderly people who
are abused are abused by members of their own family. This
is tough for me to believe. I do not understand how a
someone could take advantage of the person who took care of
them their entire life. This is the most cowardly act I can
think of. Family members force the elderly to give them
money and other financial benefits. They threaten the
elderly and in most cases the elderly have no choice but to
do as they say. This type of crime is not reported very
often. They are told that they will be harmed if they tell
anyone of the incident. During one of our sessions we had a
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substitute named Detective Milano. I enjoyed the classes
that he filled in for. I feel he challenged the students in
the class to think and express their ideas on certain
situations. I got the impression immediately that he was
very open to confrontation. A few students in the class were
very set on their ideas about the police and how they are
treated by the police. I feel he handled this situation very
well. Of course it is natural for a police officer to defend
his own. He impressed me by the way he spoke to the
students. At no point did he show that he felt he was more
important than the students. He simply stated his points and
stuck by them. There is a misconception that all police
officers are close minded and narcissistic. He proved to me
that this is not true.
He also told us a story that gave me some doubts about
the system. The story was about a murder that took place in
a Kentucky Fried Chicken. The man was caught by the police
and sent to trial. Evidence was found of the man?s footprint
on the store counter. He was also caught on tape talking
about the murders. His sister told the police that she
recognized his voice. There was also a witness that
testified against this man. He was found not guilty. The
match of the footprint was only 99% correct. This makes me
think if justice was served in this case. An innocent man
was killed while doing his job. He lost his life and his
family lost a loved one. They have to live the rest of their
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lives knowing that the man who did this is on the streets
and has the opportunity to do it to someone else. All of
this because the footprint was 99% correct. I feel when
something like this happens we are all victims. Not to the
extent of the family of the man who was murdered. We have
been victimized by the system.
Another exercise that I found very effective in the
class was when six students were asked to act as panel
members and one student acted as a judge. Each student was
given a handout and was required to act as the person in the
handout. This exercise was challenging because it did not
allow the panel members to express any personal ideas. The
panel was restricted to following the beliefs of the person
in their handout. Each panelist presented their facts from
reading the handout. The panelists were then subject to
questions from the other panel members, the judge, and the
audience. It was difficult to do this while keeping in mind
that your answers must be the answers that your subject
would have given. It was also difficult for the judge. He
was required to read all six cases and ask questions to each
one of the members. I believe this exercise helped the class
in many ways. It taught us to always be open minded when
looking at a crime. It also helped the class develop better
communication skills with each other. I also thought it was
very beneficial for the class to deal with the pressure of
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having to answer questions and give reasons for their
actions. I hope exercises like this can help me in the
future in the field of Law Enforcement. I think learning to
work under pressure is a key aspect of becoming a police
officer. For some people it comes naturally but I believe it
can be learned and improved through experience. Some of the
panel members had a more difficult time than others because
they had more controversial cases. All of the members worked
hard and handled themselves very well. I hope I can take
part in similar exercises in my future classes.
We also did an exercise that at first seemed elementary
but turned out to be rewarding. When we were given a handout
on a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon I did not know what to think.
This exercise was very helpful for the students to associate
emotion with victimization. The class was asked to read the
handout and identify the feelings that the family had after
having their house robbed. Although this was a cartoon it
helped the class understand that victimization is not only
loss of property or injury. It does much more harm to people
when they feel they have lost safety. Victims are totally
unprepared for the devastating problems they are about to
face. They try to make sense of the actions that harmed them
and ask the question why. Everyone who comes in contact with
a victim will have an effect based on the statements they
make, the questions they ask, their reaction, and their
nonverbal messages. This is why it is very important for
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police officers to show compassion and comfort the victims
of a crime in all circumstances. Depending on what type of
crime a person suffers the extent of trauma will vary. An
officer must know how to deal with each victim in each
situation.
In this class we also learned that humor can be
utilized as a way to solve your problems. Geo the Clown was
a guest in this class and he showed us the importance of
laughter in all parts of life. When a person is victimized
they get the feeling of loneliness and hopelessness. Humor
can give them the feeling that they had before they were
victimized. Even if it is for a short period.
I am very satisfied with the experience I received from
this class. I learned a great deal on how victims of a crime
feel, and how to help them to lead a normal life. I would
recommend this class to all students especially those in the
criminal justice field. There are many lessons to be learned
and applied in Law Enforcement. This class is a great way to
do that.