Victim's perceptions of initial police responses to robbery and aggravated assault: Does race matter?

Despite the fact that police officers are usually the first persons within the criminal justice system to respond to a criminal victimization, the majority of research investigating racial discrimination within the system has examined primarily the effects of race on adjudication outcomes which occur after initial police interventions, such as conviction decisions and sentences. Very little empirical effort has been devoted to examining the effects of race on early police responses to a reported victimization. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey from 1987 to 1992, this paper investigates the effects of both the victim's and the offender's race on three police responses to robbery and aggravated assault: (1) police response time to the scene, (2) effort exerted by the police at the scene, and (3) likelihood of arrest. It was found that police were quicker to respond and also exerted more effort at the scene such as searching and taking evidence to incidents of black on white robbery compared to all other racial dyads. This relationship held even after controlling for other factors such as victim-offender relationship, poverty, injury to the victim, and victim's gender. No significant effects of race, however, were found when predicting the probability of arrest in cases of robbery. The effects of race on police responses to aggravated assault were more complicated. For assaults involving strangers, police were significantly more likely to exert additional effort at the scene if the victim was white and the offender was perceived to be black. This effect was reversed, however, for nonstranger assault victimizations. Police were significantlyless likely to exert effort at the scene or to make an arrest in black on white assaults involving nonstrangers. The most consistent predictors of arrest in both stranger and nonstranger assault victimizations were police response time, injury to the victim, and the incident occurring in a public setting.     

Online victimization risk and self-protective strategies: developing police-led cyber fraud prevention programs

ABSTRACT

The prevalence and impact of cyber fraud continues to increase exponentially with new and more innovative methods developed by offenders to target and exploit victims for their own financial reward. Traditional crime reaction methods used by police have proved largely ineffective in this context, with offenders typically located outside of the police jurisdiction of their victims. Given this, some police agencies have begun to adopt a victim focused, crime prevention approach to cyber fraud. The current research explores with a sample of two hundred and eighteen potential cyber fraud victims, the relationship between online victimization risk, knowledge and use of crime prevention strategies. The study found those most at risk of cyber fraud victimization despite accurate perceptions of risk and knowledge of self-protective behaviors in the online environment underutilise online prevention strategies. This research has important implications for police agencies who are designing and delivering cyber fraud education. It provides guidance for the development of effective prevention programs based on practical skills development.     

Consistency in crime site selection: An investigation of crime sites used by serial sex offenders across crime series

PurposeKnowing sites used by serial sex offenders to commit their crimes is highly beneficial for criminal investigations. However, environmental choices of serial sex offenders remain unclear to this date. Considering the challenges these offenders pose to law enforcement, the study aims to identify sites serial sex offenders use to encounter and release their victims and investigate their stability across crime series.MethodsThe study uses latent class analysis (LCA) to identify victim encounter and release sites used by 72 serial sex offenders having committed 361 sex offenses. Additional LCA are performed to investigate the stability of these offense environments across offenders' crimes series.ResultsDistinct profiles of crime sites that are recurrent across crime series are found, suggesting that serial sex offenders present a limited diversity of victim encounter and victim release sites. Encounter sites representative of longer crime series are also identified. Specifically, the use of sites known to "attract" potential victims decreases over series and offenders become more risk-taking in regard of sites used to encounter their victims.ConclusionsThe study identifies patterns of site- selection for the victim encounter and release in cases of serial crimes. Implications for crime linkage and police investigations strategies are discussed.     

Improving forensic responses to residential burglaries: results of a randomized controlled field trial

Objectives

Residential burglaries (or break and enters) can cause great concern to the public but are typically a routine police job. The present study sought to evaluate an enhanced police approach to this high-volume crime by emphasizing police–victim interactions and more thorough forensic examinations.

Methods

Scenes of crime officers (forensic examiners) were randomly assigned to either a control (business-as-usual) or experimental condition. Officers in the experimental condition received additional training and resources to upskill them in DNA and fingerprint evidence collection and crime scene evaluation. Experimental officers also received additional training on procedurally just approaches to dealing with victims and were encouraged to be more thorough and spend more time at these high-volume crime scenes.

Results

The trial revealed that the enhanced, experimental, approach offered a number of benefits, including greater evidence collection, identification, and incidents solved. Further, this enhanced approach boosted victims’ perceptions of officers’ procedural justice and satisfaction with the procedures used. However, this approach was more costly in relation to time, and the additional collection of extra DNA evidence did not greatly add to the crime solvability of these incidents.

Conclusions

High-volume crimes such as break and enters have a significant impact on the victims and often go unsolved. This study provides causal evidence that enhancing officers’ attendance and attention to victims and evidence at these scenes can increase solvability and enhance victim experiences.

     

No body,no crime? The role of forensic awareness in avoiding police detection in cases of sexual homicide

PurposeThe study examines whether the use of forensic awareness strategies increases the chance of avoiding police detection in sexual homicide.MethodsLogistic and negative binomial regression analyses are used on a sample of 350 cases of sexual homicide – 250 solved and 100 unsolved cases – in order to determine if forensic awareness strategies are related to the status of the case (i.e., solved versus unsolved) and the number of days before body recovery, while controlling for certain victim characteristics.ResultsAlthough an offender’s use of precautions does not seem to increase the offender’s chance of avoiding police detection, some modus operandi behavior adopted by the offender at the crime scene may help to delay the discovery of the victim, and thus delay the offender’s apprehension. Moreover, the likelihood of whether or not a sexual murderer is apprehended varied significantly across victim characteristics.ConclusionSome offenders seem to exhibit rational thinking in targeting certain types of victims and in adopting certain strategies in order to delay body recovery. Number of days until body recovery is a more appropriate measure of detection avoidance than case status, as it is not biased by administrative rules or timing of data entry.     

Reporting of crime to the police in the Federal Republic of Germany: A comparison of the old and the new lands

A victimization survey of 7,026 households in the former east and west German Länder (states) carried out one year after the unification of Germany presented a unique opportunity to examine factors associated with the reporting of crime to the police. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with variation in the dependent variable, reporting of crime to the police, controlling for victimizations which occurred prior to and subsequent to unification, as well as whether the victim resided in the former east or west German Länder. The amount of loss in German Marks or seriousness of physical injury were the principle determinants of whether a crime was reported to the police.     

The emotional witness effect: story content,emotional valence and credibility of a male suspect

Abstract

Building on previous research which identified alcohol as the drug of choice for facilitating sexual assaults, this paper analysed 93 rape cases reported to the police in which the victim was under the influence of drugs/alcohol when the assault occurred. The aim was to explore what substances victims consumed to become incapacitated and who induced the state of incapacity. The degree of pre-planning suggests that the offender could be described as opportunistic or predatory. Findings demonstrated that the majority of rapes (coming to police notice) in which alcohol or drugs are implicated, are circumstances where the victim has self-intoxicated through alcohol consumption. There were relatively few cases in which drugs had been administered surreptitiously. The analyses successfully identified differences between rapes that occur when the victim is intoxicated or drugged according to how she consumed that alcohol/drug and what kind of alcohol/drugs she had consumed. The concept of negotiative space is offered as a potential theoretical explanation. The findings are discussed in the light of this and recommendations for crime prevention are made.     

A review of the role of radical feminist theories in the understanding of rape myth acceptance

Abstract

Research into rape myth acceptance (RMA) first emerged in the 1970s, when authors such as Brownmiller (1975) and Burt (1980) proposed that rape was a mechanism that allowed men to exert power over women and that the endorsement of rape myths justified this sexual dominance. These influential theories have meant that subsequent definitions of rape myths have failed to acknowledge male victims of serious sexual assault, despite an increase in prevalence rates. More recent research has attempted to explore RMA in relation to male victims, with results suggesting that men are more likely than women to endorse rape myths regarding male victims when the victim is assumed to be homosexual, or when the victim is heterosexual and the perpetrator is female. Brownmiller's theory is challenged and a more holistic view of the importance of sex-role traditionality is explored, while acknowledging the contribution of individual factors relating to the development of RMA.     

Victim survey research: Implications for criminal justice planning

The historic use of offense reports by police agencies for decision making is examined in the light of another data source — victim surveys. Survey information data can be used to: (1) more reliably estimate the extent and distribution of crime in a community; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of innovative programs; (3) develop police-sponsored public education programs; (4) describe the characteristics of victims and high crime areas; (5) sensitize police to the needs of the victim; and (6) develop police training programs that include dealing with the victim.     

Ecological considerations in victim reporting to the police

A review of recent criminological literature suggests that different systems of social control operate across the urban-rural dimension. Specifically, it is expected that victims in urban areas will report crimes to the police at a higher rate than victims in surburban and rural areas. Moreover, it is anticipated that urban, suburban, and rural victims will have different reasons for not reporting the crime. In this paper these issues are examined empirically using the National Crime Survey victimization data. These data show that, contrary to theoretical expectations, the extent of victim reporting does not vary across the urban-rural dimension for the crimes of rape, robbery, assault, and personal larceny. Characteristics of the offense, notably seriousness, are shown to be more important in victim reporting than the extent of urbanization. In addition, these data indicate that victim residence in conjunction with type of crime and victim-offender relationship has an influence on the reasons selected by victims for not reporting the crime to the police.     

Human trafficking and police governance

Abstract

Human trafficking in its various forms continues to offer significant challenges for law enforcement agencies. There is a growing body of research that addresses some of the police governance and management issues associated with the prevention and control of human trafficking and the protection of victims of this type of crime. This article reviews the literature on the implementation of effective detection, investigation, prosecution, and victim protection strategies; the need for more effective international cooperation; and, the struggle to keep up with the illusive criminal organizations and networks that often defy law enforcement tactics. It also considers some of the specific challenges that result from the frequent conflation of human trafficking enforcement with immigration control strategies. It offers a few suggestions on how these issues may be addressed from a police governance standpoint and concludes with a call for better data on human trafficking and the relative effectiveness of different law enforcement strategies.     

The effect of social support on fraud victims' reporting behavior: A research note

Little effort has been made to understand white-collar crime victims, and little is known about the factors that influence reporting behavior among these victims. In this paper we use the concept of social support to explain responses to fraud, one form of white-collar crime. Results show that social support in the form of information from others influences whether fraud victims report their victimizations. Fraud victims' responses parallel those of street crime victims in that both types of victims respond according to the direction of social support they receive from family and friends.     

Specialized Domestic Violence Courts

Abstract

The multimethod study assesses the perceptions of specialized domestic violence courts' processes with victims' experiences as the central focus. Perceptions of the traditional courts and specialized domestic violence courts are compared among victims, courtroom police, attorneys, judges and victim advocates. Domestic violence education among attorneys, judges, and victim advocates is also compared. Despite the intended improvements with the specialized court model, victims report similar problems in both court models. Safety and victims support among respondents is mixed. Professionals from the specialized court receive no more domestic violence education than those from the general court. Victims' and courtroom police recommendations are presented.     

Body Disposal Patterns of Sexual Murderers: Implications for Offender Profiling

Offender profiling postulates that crime scene behavior should predict certain offender characteristics. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between offender characteristics, situational factors, and body disposal patterns. Sequential logistic regression analysis on a sample of 85 sexual murderers shows that those who were in a relationship at the time of the crime and who present organized psychological characteristics are more likely to move the victim’s body after the homicide. However, when the victim is older and a conflict with the offender occurred prior to the crime, the body is more likely to be left at the crime scene. Implications for offender profiling are discussed in light of the results.

The fear of reprisal and the failure of victims to report a personal crime

Most people who fail to report their victimizations to the police state either that the incident was not serious enough to warrant official attention or that nothing could be done. However, a small proportion of victims states that they did not report because of their fear of reprisal. Based on National Crime Panel victimization data, the offense and personal characteristics of these victims are contrasted with the total victim and nonreporting victim populations. Contrary to the general reasons for not reporting a crime, several personal and offense characteristics are related to reprisal. For instance, reprisal is more often a factor in personal victimizations where victims are female and acquainted with their offenders. The more dangerous the incident, the more often reprisal is the stated reason for not calling the police. The results of the analysis strongly suggest that in certain social environments the fear of reprisal is a major factor in the reporting of crime.     

Employing mixed methods to explore motivational patterns of repeat sex offenders

PurposeUnderstanding the motivation of sex offenders plays a key role in societal perception of victim culpability and offender responsibility. This study identified patterns of offender motivation, assessed motivation stability across offenses, and estimated the influence of offense/victim specific factors on motivation in comparison to offender factors.MethodsEmploying mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design, the study utilized confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to identify motivational factors underlying 346 crime events. Second, motivation stability was assessed across offenses committed by 69 offenders. Finally, interview data were reviewed to assess whether offender types emerged corresponding to CFA results.ResultsA motivational typology was identified comprised of five offender groupings built upon two underlying constructs, one driven by sexual gratification and the other linked to anger/aggression. Minimal change in motivation was observed across offenses committed by the same offender against different victims. Offense/victim specific influence (22-23%) and offender related influence (77-78%) were similarly distributed with both sexual and anger-driven motivation.ConclusionsMotivation plays a key role in offending. Offense/victim specific factors have similar proportional influence on crime motivation in comparison to offender factors irrespective of the type of motivation. Contrary to popular public perception, victim blame is not warranted regardless of what motivates offenders.     

Victims of sexual assault perpetrated by female youth: an exploratory study of gender differences*

ABSTRACT

This study examines sexual offending behaviour of juvenile females and juvenile males who come to the attention of the police. Using victim age as an analytical tool and more than 20 years of incident-level crime data, perpetrator, victim, and offense characteristics are compared to assess if the offending behaviours of juvenile females and juvenile males differ when the victim is a child versus a peer. The multinomial logistic regression showed there were differences in offending between juvenile females and juvenile males dependent on type of victim. Perpetrator substance abuse, victim sex, victim-offender relationship, type of sexual assault, use of force, location of the sexual assault, the time of day of the sexual assault, and whether or not the incident resulted in an arrest all reliably predicted these differences. The results reinforce the field's call for a greater development of a gendered understanding of sexual offending behaviour.     

Building community resilience: strategic role of police with bombing victims

Abstract

In the context where terrorism is viewed as an act of crime based on ideology, healing bombing victims using various components of society along with the support of police is critical. The approach is distinct from treatment of other crime victims. This paper describes the strategic role of the police in transforming bombing victims into ‘champions’ to build community resilience, based on the author’s best practice. The transformation process includes five key stages namely physical rehabilitation, psychosocial rehabilitation, harmonization through group therapies and dialogues, empowerment programs, and generating change agents to deliver anti-violence messages. In the process, a collaborative work among police, professionals, experts, civil society, and other proponents is necessary in order to prevent future reciprocal acts of violence in the community.     

Unreported crimes,public dissatisfaction of police,and observed police misconduct in the Volgograd region,Russia: A research note

The paper examines the issue of widespread underreporting of crimes in the Volgograd region of Russia. The factors of public satisfaction with police, prior observed police misconduct, type of crime, and victim’s demographics are used to explain a victim’s decision to report crimes to the police. The research is based on a representative sample of Russian citizens conducted over a 9 year period in the Volgograd region (1998–2007) with a sample size of 1332 cases. The study concludes that prior observed police misconduct, especially the falsification of documents, is the strongest predictor of victims’ decisions to report crimes. The research holds critical implications for the ongoing reform of Russian police.     

Fair Treatment or Preferred Outcome? The Impact of Police Behavior on Victim Reports of Domestic Violence Incidents

This research is an exploratory test of two hypotheses emerging from debates about how police behavior may influence domestic violence victim reporting. From a procedural justice perspective, victims should be more apt to report victimization when previous encounters with police are viewed as procedurally fair. From a distributive justice perspective, denying victims their preferred outcome may discourage future police utilization. We find that satisfaction with police is related to both distributive and procedural justice but that re-utilization of police is conditioned by preferred outcome. Specifically, if the offender was arrested in accordance with victim preference, the victim is significantly more apt to utilize police in the future.