Victimization Theories

1. Victim Precipitation

2. Life Style

3. RAT

“Crime Victim”

The term "crime victim" generally refers to any person or group who has suffered injury or loss due to illegal activity

The harm can be physical, psychological, or economic 

Victimization Theories

What makes someone a victim? Look at criminal-victim dyad

Victim as agent provocateur Victim characteristics contribute to

victimization Situational context Spatial characteristics Can we decrease our chances of being

victimized?

Victimization and situational setting

Individual behavior is a product of an interaction between the person and the setting

Most criminological theories pay attention only to the first, asking why certain people might be more criminally inclined or less so

This neglects the important features of social setting

Benjamin Mendelsohn (1956)

Father of victimology – coined term victimology Discovered strong relationship between

victimization and social setting Classification based on legal considerations of

the degree of the victim’s blame 1. completely innocent (being in the wrong place at

the wrong time) 2. victims with minor guilt/due to ignorance 3. victim as guilty as offender/voluntary victim

Victim Precipitation

The degree to which victim is responsible for own victimization

Wolfgang (1958): first to empirically investigate victim precipitation

Investigated homicides in Philly from 1948-1952 Common factors:

1. Often victim and offender know each other

2. Alcohol plays role

3. Incident often escalates from minor altercation to murder

Victim Precipitation

60% of cases where women killed their husbands as victim precipitated

9% of incidents where men killed their wives as victim precipitated

Wolfgang’s Study

Victim was “the first to slap, punch, stab..”

The prevalence of victim precipitation in murder and assault is contrary to the popular image victims as totally innocent

Victim Precipitation and Homicide

Interpersonal dispute is a dominant characteristic of many homicides

Five stages of escalation for typical homicide

1. Victim makes a direct offensive verbal attack against the offender (40 % of victims initiate the homicide drama by verbal threat)

Victim Precipitation and Homicide

2. The offender interprets the victim’s words and deeds as offensive

3. The offender makes the opening to “pay back” the victim for the previous insult

4. The eventual victim “stands up” to the offender’s opening, responding with increased hostility

5. Commitment to battles ensues, the victim is left dead or dying (35% of offenders carry gun or knives, and nearly 65% leave the crime scene to obtain weapons)

Victim Precipitation and Homicide

Amir’s analysis or rape

Police records on rape incidents in Philly from 1958-1960

19% of all forcible rapes were victim-precipitated

Factors: alcohol, seductive actions by victim, wearing revealing clothing, using risque language, bad reputation

Offender’s interpretation of actions is what is important – not what victim actually does

Provocative dress - active precipitation

Female victims contribute to their attacks by provocative dressing/behavior

Do you believe in victim precipitation?

Passive Precipitation

Occurs when the victim exhibits some personal characteristic that either threaten or encourages the attacker

Related to power Group of immigrants arriving to the

community and compete for job Love interest, promotion

Problems with Victim Precipitation

Assumption that behavior of victim can explain criminal act

Responsibility Placed on Victim Creates Culturally Legitimate Victim Excuses Offenders Behavior

Victimology Today Aim to search for the causes of

victimization Search for remedies or prevention Concerned with:

How victims are defined How definitions are applied – by victim by

social scientists, by community How victims react to experience How society responds to victims – systems

for dealing with victims

Lifestyle Theory

Victimization is the function of the victim’s lifestyle

Going out in public places late at night, living in urban areas

High-risk lifestyles: drinking, taking drugs, getting involved in crimes, leaving household for a long time, etc

Do WSU students have high-risk lifestyles?

Lifestyle Theory

How to decrease your own victimization?

Lifestyles Theory Micro-level theory Variations in lifestyle affect # situations with

high victimization risks that an individual may experience People associate with Working outside of the home Leisure activities

Someone who has drug dealer as friend more likely to be victimized than someone with prosocial friends

Empirical Tests General findings: homes that are well-guarded

are less likely to be burglarized, people who stay out late and drink heavily are more likely to be crime victims

Schwartz and Pitts (1995): study of college women at Ohio University Most likely to be victim:

Number of nights go out drinking (suitable target/absence of guardianship)

Whether have friends who get women drunk for purpose of having sex (motivated offender)

Experiencing uncomfortable advances in bar (suitable target, motivated offenders, absence of capable guardianship)

Dangerous Times

Nighttime and weekends are the peak times for most violent crimes, property offenses, and public order violations

Darkness is a criminogenic condition (fewer people are around, higher rates of drug and alcohol use, greater anonymity)

Dangerous places

Dangerousness of particular physical locations changes according to crimes

Victims’ homes (homicide, assault, sexual offenses)

Streets around victim’s homes and deserted areas near parking lots and entertainment establishments (muggers and auto thieves)

Dangerous Times and Places for Homicide and Aggravate Assault

Homicide Evening hours (6pm-6a.m)

(70%) Weekends (39%) Home/residence (35%) Street/alley (39%) Vehicle (10%) Commercial places (6%)

Aggravated Assault Evening hours (6p.m. –

midnight) (49%) Within 1 mile of residence

(54%) Streets/parking lots (34%) In or near victim’s home

(28%) Schools (5%) Home of

friend/relative/neighbor (9%)

Victim profile in homicide and aggravated assault

Homicide victimsMale (76%)White (50%); African american(48%)13-24 years old (32%)Same race of victim and offender (89%)Single and never married (54%)Urban resident (54%)Employed (56%)High risk occupations: 1. Taxicab driver and Chauffeurs 2. Police/Law enforcement officials 3. Hotel clerks 4. Garage & service station employee 5. Stock handlers and baggers

Aggravated assault victims

Male (68%)

White (77%); African american(19%)

16-24 years (17 per 100,000)

Never married (13 per 100,000)

Divorced/Separated (13 per 100,000)

Family income <$7,500 (20 per 1,000)

Urban resident (11 per 1,000)

One-Victim incident (90%)

Victim tried to protect self (74%)

Victim physically injured (25%)

Average rate (7.5 per 100,000)

Sociodemographic Characteristics of Offenders Overrepresented for Each Crime Type

Crime Type Sex Age Race Social Class

Prior Arrest?

Offense Spontaneous

Specialization Acts

Murder & Assault Male

< 25

African American

Lower Class Yes No Yes

Sexual Assault Male < 25 African

American Lower Class

Yes Some Mixed Personal & Institutional Robbery

Male < 25 African

American Lower Class

Yes No No

Residential & Nonresidential Burglary

Male < 25 African

American Lower Class Yes No Mixed

Motor Vehicle Theft

Male < 21 African

American Mixed Yes Some Mixed

Occupational Crime

Male > 25 White Lower, Middle Class

No Some No

Organizational Crime Male > 25 White

Upper Class No Some No

Public Order Crime

Both < 25 African

American Lower Class

Yes Mixed Mixed

Time and Place Elements of Crime Profiles

Crime Type Night/Day Season Location Type of Area

Murder Night Summer Victim's Home Low Income Aggravated Assault Night Summer Street Low Income Sexual Assault (Rape) Night Summer Victim s Home Low Income

Personal Robbery Day Summer Early Fall

Near Victim's Home.

Business Low Income

Institutional Robbery Night Summer Early Fall

Business Central City

Residential Burglary Day Summer Victim's Home Low Income Nonresidential Night Summer Business Low Income Burglary

Motor Vehicle Theft Night Summer Near Victim's

Home Central City

Occupational Crime Don't Know Don't Know Work Don't Know Organizational Crime Don't Don't Know Work Don't Know Public Order Crime Night All Don't Know All Types

Situational Elements of Crime Profiles

Crime Type Motivation Victim-Offender

Relationship Percentage

Co-Offenders Alcohol/ Drag Use

Victim Contribution

Murder & Aggravated Assault

Expressive Nonstranger < 50% > 50% 20-50%

Sexual Assault (Rape)

Both Expressive & Instrumental Nonstranger < 10% > 50% < 10%

Personal & Institutional Robbery Instrumental Strangers > 33% > 50% < 10%

Residential & Nonresidential Burglary

Instrumental Strangers < 50% 50% < 20%

Motor Vehicle Theft Both Expressive & Instrumental

Strangers > 50% 50% < 20%

Occupational & Organizational Crime Instrumental

Strangers & Nonstrangers < 10% < 50 % < 10%

Public Order Crime Both Expressive & Instrumental N/A > 50% > 50% N/A

Routine Activity Theory

Cohen, Felson (195…) “Opportunity makes the thief” RAT argues that when a crime occurs,

three things happen at the same time and in the same space:

• 1. a suitable target is available• 2. there is the lack of a suitable guardian to

prevent the crime from happening• 3. motivated offender is present

Routine Activity Theory

A Suitable Target

The first condition for crime is that a suitable target must be available

There are three major categories of target:

a person an object a place

Potential Targets

Four things make a target suitable to an offender and these use the acronym VIVA:

Value. The offenders value the target for what they gain or value the effect they have on it

For example, a burglary might occur because the burglar wants the stolen items or wants the money made from selling them

Offender might damage a bus stop, because he/she gets satisfaction (value)

Potential Targets

Inertia. The size or weight of an item can effect how suitable it is. For example, items such as CDs and watches are suitable targets for shoplifters because they are small and portable.

Visibility. How visible a target is can affect its suitability. For example, items left in view of a window or someone counting money near a cash point machine are visible targets.

Access. If a target is easy to get to, this increases its suitability. So, goods displayed outside shops, or someone walking through a deserted street alone at night are accessible.

Absence of a Capable Guardian

A capable guardian is anything, either a person or thing, that discourages crime from taking place

Police patrols, security guards, Neighbourhood Watch schemes, locks, fences, barriers, lighting, alarm systems, vigilant staff and co-workers, friends

A guardian can be present, but ineffective. For example a CCTV camera is not a capable guardian if it is set up or sited wrongly

Staff might be present in a shop, but may not have sufficient training or awareness to be an effective deterrent

Likely Offenders

Gain/Need: poverty, to feed a drug habit, greed.

Society/Experience/Environment: living in a culture where crime is acceptable, because of peer pressure, coercion, lack of education, poor employment prospects, envy, as a rebellion against authority.

Beliefs: a belief that crime in general or particular crimes aren’t wrong, as a protest on a matter of principle, prejudice against certain minority/ethnic groups.

The offender profile in burglary

Male (88%) White (68%), African American (30%) <25 years old (64%) Prior arrest record (79%) Prior felony arrest record (68%) Little offense specialization

The victim profile in household

burglary Highest

<19 years old head of household

African American/Latino Income<$15,000 Urban resident Renter Six or more people in

households Resident for less than 6

months Multifamily unit

Lowest 65 or older head of

household White/non-Latino Income >$75,000 Rural/Suburban Owner Live alone Residents for more than

5years Single-family unit

Benett and Wright (1984)

Found that burglars use a variety of cues in selecting targets (empirical test of RAT)

“Surveillability” refers to the extent to which a house is overseen by neighbors or passerby

How to chose a target

“Signs of occupancy” (internal lightening, cars in a garage, seeing resident in the house, noise, voices)

“Accessibility” refers to easy of entry without detection (alarms, window and door bars, security entrances, etc)

Empirical Validity of RAT

Sherman (1989) “hot spots” study He focused on “criminology of place”

and used Minneapolis police “call data” Most crime reports (calls) came from

only 3% of all locations in the city Those places attracted offenders

(absence of guardians)

Evaluation of RAT

RAT is not a theory of criminal behavior, it is a theory of criminal victimization

Theory does not explain why some persons are motivated to commit crime

Does not explain why informal/formal control exercised to prevent crime

It just assumes that informal/formal guardians are not present or able to prevent crime, then crime will occur

Theory of common sense (Akers, 2000) Sit at home, watch television, decrease chance of being

victimized

Policy Implications

Situational Crime Prevention: stop crime by preventing the intersection in time and space of offenders and targets that lack guardianship

Make target less attractive and offenders will choose not to commit crime