From Crime Policy To Victim Policy

Nils Christie’s (1986) seminal work on the ‘Ideal Victim’ is reproduced in full in this edited collection of vibrant and provocative essays that respond to and update the concept from a range of thematic positions. Each chapter celebrates and commemorates his work by analysing, evaluating and critiquing the current nature and impact of victim identity, experience, policy and practice. The collection expands the focus and remit of ‘victim studies’, addressing key themes around race, gender, faith, ability and age while encompassing new and diverse issues. Examples include sex workers as victims of hate crimes, victims’ experiences of online fraud, and recognising historic child sexual abuse victims in Ireland. With contributions from an array of academics including Vicky Heap (Sheffield Hallam University), Hannah Mason-Bish (University of Sussex) and Pamela Davies (Northumbria University), as well as a Foreword by David Scott (The Open University), this book evaluates the contemporary relevance and applicability of Christie’s ‘Ideal Victim’ concept and creates an important platform for thinking differently about victimhood in the 21st century.

This edited volume contains 22 papers organized into three sections under the following headings: part I is entitled On Promoting Victim Policies; Part II On Reforming Criminal Justice; and Part III On Restorative Justice. All three areas are ones to which Tony Peters, former Professor of Criminology in Leuven, has made a significant contribution and for which he is known as an international authority. During his long and productive academic career Tony Peters led many struggles for criminal justice reform. He was a leading figure in the movement to recognize crime victims' plight and to reaffirm their rights. In Belgium, he spearheaded the early initiatives in restorative justice and became one of its outspoken proponents nationally and internationally. There is no doubt that these three major topics and the various developments and reforms that are addressed in the papers will dominate the thinking about, and the practice of, criminal justice in the years to come. Thus, in addition to paying homage to a congenial friend and an illustrious colleague, it is hoped that this book will appeal and prove useful to all those who have an interest in victims issues, in criminal justice reform, and last but not least, in the promising paradigm of restorative justice.

Official crime policy shifted its focus from crime and criminals to victimization and victims in the 1980s and early 1990s. As a result, crime victims were the subject of extensive new legislation addressing victim needs, rights, and services. But did these initiatives really help victims, or did they help further Reagan and Bush administration "law and order" policies for curbing offender and public rights in favor of increasing police power? And has such power escalated incidents like the Rodney King case in Los Angeles? In this controversial and thought-provoking book, Robert Elias evaluates the effectiveness of the last decade′s victim policy and argues that victims have been politically manipulated for official objectives. As a result, little victim support has occurred, and victimization keeps escalating. He reaches these conclusions from a thorough examination of victim legislation, get-tough crime policies, media crime coverage, the victim movement, and the wars on crime and drugs. Finally, he proposes solutions that could lead to substantially less crime. Students and professionals of criminology, victimology, policy studies, and political science will find Victims Still an exceptionally stimulating resource. "In Victims Still, Elias demonstrates again that he is a preeminent scholar in the field of victimology. This work provides a unique, provocative, and elucidative account of the politicization of the victims′ movement as well as the social and political ramifications of the ′get tough′ crime policies and enforcement strategies of the 1980s. Dr. Elias raises serious and challenging questions about the currency of conventional responses to crime victims and offenders. Victims Still should be required reading for crime victim researchers and program practitioners. This book offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the causes of crime and violence in America. Professor Elias′s solutions to the crime problem are sweeping and progressive." --Arthur J. Lurigio, Ph.D., Loyola University of Chicago

From white-collar to environmental crime, and hate crime to sexual violence, the study of victims and of the processes of victimisation is indispensable to understanding the full scale of the effects of crime in society. In this book, Basia Spalek offers a theoretically detailed and empirically rich account of how victimology has developed into a field that transcends academic disciplines and brings together researchers, practitioners, activists and community members. This second edition of Crime Victims continues to be a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the historical, social, political and cultural issues and trends in approaches to victims and victimisation. It introduces victimological theory, explores the impacts of crime on victims, and the challenges involved in developing victim support services. In addition, acknowledging the increasing recognition of trauma as central to understanding victimisation, it includes a therapeutic toolkit for victims, offenders and practitioners working in and with the criminal justice system. With Cutting Edge Research and Case Study sections added at the end of each chapter to highlight victimology as a vibrant and continuously developing field, Crime Victims is an essential resource to a broad audience, ranging from students of victimology, criminology and sociology to practitioners and professionals.

This is the first accessible, succinct text to provide definitions and explanations of key terms and concepts relating to the expanding field of crime, harm and victimisation. Written by a wide range of experts, it includes theories, ideas and case studies relating to victims of conventional crime and victims outside the remit of criminal law. It encapsulates the domestic and international nature, extent and measurement of victims of crime and harm, together with responses to victims and victimisation as a result of conventional, corporate and state crimes and harms. As part of the Companion series, entries are presented in a user-friendly A-Z format with clear links to related entries and further reading, allowing easy navigation for both students and practitioners. Filling a gap in the market, this is a good source and quick reference point for undergraduates studying a variety of courses in criminology, criminal justice, victimology and other related disciplines.