Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Law Inadequate
in favour of victims
The
victim is the forgotten man of our criminal justice system. He sets
the criminal law in to motion but then goes into oblivion. The present
code of criminal procedure does not recognize the right of victim to
take part in the prosecution of the case instituted on the basis of
police report. The victim is merely a witness in a State versus case.
He has no rights to prefer appeal against the order of acquittal of
the accused by trial court in a criminal case started by State. The
State reserves the discretion not to prefer and also to withdraw from
the prosecution even in heinous offences. The victim of crime becomes
the victim of our criminal justice system when the political motivated
investigation agency or prosecuting agency shows lack of interest or
apathy in the matter of investigation or prosecution on extraneous
consideration.
Innovative approach
of apex court.
The Supreme Court has forged new tools, devised new methods and
adopted new strategies for the purpose of making fundamental rights
meaningful even to the victims of crime of crime in AIR 1995 SC 14,
the Supreme Court directed the State of Uttar Pradesh to suspend
and start disciplinary action against two police officers and one
There is a need to see for the criminal Justice reforms and victims
rights organizations to become more active. Govt. of Maharashtra
women and child development Dept., various Boards and women
commission should become active in formation of the group to help
such victims of crime.
On 14th August 1992, many social Scientists, Professors, Research
Scholars, Students & Criminal Justice functionaries interested in cause of
victims of crime met at Dept. of victimology at University of Madras
in India and decided to start an organization in the name of Indian
Society of victimology . He was elected unopposed as President.
Victimology
Until recently, victims were not studied. They tended to be seen as
passive recipients of the criminals greed or anger, in the wrong place at the
wrong time. The study of victims, known as victimology, has resulted in
theoretical and research studies, and an awareness of the victim has grown
in the public consciousness. There is now recognition that victims have
traditionally not been treated particularly well by the criminal justice system.
Victims suffer not only during the crime, but that there are also sometimes
physical and psychological complications.
Perhaps the first theory to explain victimization was developed by Wolfgang
in his study of murders in Philadelphia. Victim precipitation theory argues
that there are victims who actually initiated the confrontation that led to
their injuries and deaths. Although this was the result of the study of only
one type of crime, the idea was first raised that victims also might play a role
in the criminal activity.
Subsequently,
victimization.
some
general
facts
have
been
gathered
about
Crime occurs more in open public areas, although rapes and simple
assaults tend to occur in homes.
Western urban areas have the highest crime rates, while the Northeast
rural areas have the lowest.
The National Crime Survey indicates that 25% of U.S. households have
at least one individual who was victimized in some way during the past year.
Victim risk diminishes rapidly after age 25. Contrary to popular belief,
grandparents are safer than their grandchildren.
The poor are more likely to be victims of crime. They are far more
likely to be victims of violent crime, while the middle class are more likely to
be victims of property crime.
In some studies, over half of offenders report being under the influence
of alcohol and/or other drugs when they committed the offense resulting in
incarceration.
Theories of Victimization
A number of theories have been advanced to explain some of the findings
indicated above. Life-style theory, for example, argues that certain lifestyles increases one's exposure to criminal offenses and increases risk of
victimization, while other life-styles might reduce risk.
For example,
increased risk would be likely if a person is single, associating with other
young men (who are at greater risk for criminal activity), living in urban
areas, and going to public places late at night. Reduced risk would be
associated with staying home at night, living in a rural area, being married
and staying at home, and earning more money.
According to this
explanation, the probability of crime depends partially on the activities of the
victim. Crime is more likely when victims place themselves in jeopardy.
This explanation would account for some of the findings with respect to
victimization. For example, although the elderly are more fearful of crime
(perhaps because they are more vulnerable), they go out less and take more
precautions when they do. Women also tend to take more precautions, and
are more likely to be accompanied be accompanied by a male or a group,
rather than alone. Living in an urban area should increase risk, because
crime is more common in urban areas and the likelihood of detection is
lower.
The Proximity hypothesis suggests that crime is less a function of life-style,
but rather is based on close proximity. Victims and criminals live in the same
high crime areas, characterized by poor, densely populated, highly transient
neighborhoods. The probability of being victimized is more a function of
where one lives than one's lifestyle. Proponents of this argument point out
that typically criminals do not go far from home to commit their crimes, and
thus other people in their own neighborhoods will be more at risk.
A related concept is the equivalent group hypothesis, which points out that
criminals and victims overall share similar characteristics because they are
not entirely separate groups. People who commit crimes are probably at
higher risk for victimization, both because of proximity to other criminals and
because of their own lifestyles, which involve going out at night and
associating with other young males who are involved in crime. In such
associations, they place themselves at risk for becoming the victim of crimes
themselves. Some support for this concept comes from research that
indicates that crime victims as a group self-report a high amount of criminal
activity. This hypothesis does not indicate that all victims are criminals, but
that criminals as a group are at higher risk for becoming victims at some
point because of the high-risk nature of their activities and associations.
Routine activities theory argues that victimization is dependent on the
routine activities of people's daily lives. The volume and distribution of
predatory crimes depends on (1) the availability of suitable targets; (2) the
absence of capable guardians; and (3) the presence of motivated offenders.
In other words, as people move about, there must be opportunities (suitable
targets), and it must appear that no one will be present, or that no one will
intervene if they do observe the crime. "Capable guardians" refers to
citizens who are watchful and who would take effective action if the saw
criminal activity. Of course, even if there were opportunities and no one to
observe activity, crime would not occur if they were not motivated to commit
a crime.
Routine activities theory accounts for the increase in crime since the 1960s
as a function of changes in activities.
For example, the traditional
neighborhood in the city has declined as many people have left for the
suburbs, leaving fewer capable guardians. There are less people at home.
Partly this is because more women have entered the workforce rather than
staying home, but perhaps more importantly more people have automobiles
and more places available for them to go, and simply stay home less. The
volume of wealth that can be easily transported has increased. Such
changes have meant that there are more opportunities for crime as a
function of people's daily routines. Most of Western Europe, Australia,
Canada, and the United States have all experienced increases in crime in the
latter part of the 20th century, and many of these changes have occurred in
these countries.
Victim Services
The development of new programs and legislation has resulted from
the study of victims. Such programs have included:
Crisis intervention and counseling programs for victims, particularly in
the case of rape
CONCEPT OF VICTIMOLOGY
Victimology is the scientific study of victims of crime, a sub discipline of
criminology. It seeks to study the relationship between victim and offenders,
the persons especially vulnerable to crimes and the victims. Placement in the
criminal justice system. (CJS). Benjamin Mendelsohn has done pioneering
work in this field. B. Mendelsohn is credited with being the first study to the
relationship between victim and doer (offender) and taken together, he
termed to else PENAL COUPLE.
Schultz (1970) saysVictimology is the study of the degree of and type of participation of the
victim in the gensis or development of the offences and an evaluation of
what is just and proper for the victims welfare.
Drapkin and Viano (1974)Victimology is the branch of criminology which primarily studies the
victims of crime and everything that is connected with such are victim. (as
quoted by Krishna and Singh, 1982).
In a broder prespective Antilla (1975)-
DEFINITION OF VICTIM
The connotations of term victim vary in different legal, social, psychological
or criminological contexts. The penal codes of the erstwhile USSR describe
the victim as follows.
Those who have as a direct result of a crime suffered moral physical or
material damage;
1. Those who have suffered physical, moral, or material damage throw
and attempted offence;
2. Those whose material damage caused by the crime was made good
after the crime, either by the criminal himself or with the help of Militia
or of an individual action;
3. Close relation of person who died as a result of a crime.
From the legal stand point, Fattah (1966) observedThe Victim may be specific such as physical or moral person (Corporation,
State, and Association) or non specific-and an abstraction.
Quinney (1972)The victim is a conception of reality as well as an object of events. All
parties involved in sequence of actions construct the reality of the situation.
And in the larger social contacts, we all engage in common sense
construction of the crime, the criminal, and the victims
Separovic (1975) statedWe consider a victim as anything, physical or moral person who suffers
either as a result of ruthless design or accidentally. Accordingly we have
victim of crime or offence and victims of accidents.
Castro(1979)-
another development in the legal handling of the victim, in the United States,
at least forty normal restitution programs are in operation.
THE VICTIM AS VICTIM OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Students and professionals in the criminal justice system have become
increasingly aware that the victim of a criminal often becomes the victim of
criminal justice system as well as once the victim reports his victimization to
the police-the gateway to the criminal justice system-he routinely faces
postponements, delays, rescheduling, and other frustrations. All their means
loss of earnings, waste of time, payment of transportation and other
expenses, discouragement, and the painful realization that the system does
not live up to its ideals and does not serve its constituency, but instead
serves only itself. Many believe that the victim is the most disregarded
participant in criminal justice proceedings. In practice, after the victim has
reported his victimization and provided information to the police, he may not
hear from the police or the prosecutor for a long time, if ever, cases are
disposed of without any consultation with the victim if and when the victim is
called for the trial, he is treated simply as the witness for the state and is
subject to long delays, postponements, and other frustrating experiences.
Newly focused attention has brought professional recognition to the victims
plight at the hands of the criminal justice system: As a result, innovative
proposals have been implemented to create victim assistance programmes,
to provide the victim with legal and social referral services, to honor his right
to be consulted and to offer his opinions when the prosecutor plea bargains
with the accused, and to totally revamp the compensation-restitution idea.
Some police departments report to victims the progress being made in
investigating and solving their cases, and communities may provide such
services as rape crisis centers and spouse abuse shelters to assist crime
victims by intervening in the crisis and referring the victims to community
and others resources in the case of rape, the womens movement has
spurred victimologists-mostly males-to give more equitable and balanced
attention to the issues surrounding what some have called the most
despicable but least punished crime.
Attention to the victim calls for an examination of the appropriate remedies
for victimization. Too often the remedies offered to poor victims reflect
middle-class values. The victims point of view should be sought when
systems are developed for compensating crime victims, and the concept of
be
introduced
in
debate
and
deliberations
for
grievances,
the
victims
of
crimes
faced
blamed for becoming a victim of a violent crime. Even high risk victims (to
be described shortly) have the right to live how they wish without becoming
a victim of the type of offenses described on this site. Yet the fact remains,
that to understand the offender, one must first understand the victim.
High Risk Victims - Victims in this group have a lifestyle that makes them a
higher risk for being a victim of a violent crime. The most obvious high risk
victim is the prostitute. Prostitutes place themselves at risk every single
time they go to work. Prostitutes are high risk because they will get into a
stranger's car, go to secluded areas with strangers, and for the most part
attempt to conceal their actions for legal reasons. Offenders often rely on all
these factors and specifically target prostitutes because it lowers their
chances of becoming a suspect in the crime. Therefore, in this example, the
prostitute is a high risk victim creating a lower risk to the offender.
Moderate Risk Victims - Victims that fall into this category are lower risk
victims, but for some reason were in a situation that placed them in a greater
level of risk. A person that is stranded on a dark, secluded highway due to a
flat tire that accepts a ride from a stranger and is then victimized would be a
good example of this type of victim level risk.
Low Risk Victims - The lifestyle of these individuals would normally not place
them in any degree of risk for becoming a victim of a violent crime. These
individuals stay out of trouble, do not have peers that are criminal, are aware
of their surroundings and attempt to take precautions to not become a
victim. They lock the doors, do not use drugs, and do not go into areas that
are dark and secluded.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The victim is essentially an inseparable part of crime. Therefore the
phenomenon of crime cannot be comprehensively explained without
incorporating the victim of a crime. Crime victim, despite being an integral
part of crime and a key factor in criminal justice system, remained a
forgotten entity as his status got reduced only to report crime and appear in
the court as witness and he routinely faces postponements, delays,
rescheduling, and other frustrations. All their means loss of earnings, waste
of time, payment of transportation and other expenses, discouragement, and
the painful realization that the system does not live up to its ideals and does
not serve its constituency, but instead serves only itself. Many believe that
the victim is the most disregarded participant in criminal justice proceedings.
It is, therefore, the Indian Higher Courts have started to award the
compensation through their writ jurisdiction in appropriate cases.
Advocate Deepak bade
B.A. LLB. LL.M.