Types Victimization And How It Affects Criminal Justice System

I have been victimized for many reasons. As well as I?ve seen multiple of my friends and family be victimized. Victimization is the act of victimizing someone. It is the action of singling someone out for cruel and unjust treatment.

Anyone can be a victim of victimization for any of the following reasons; sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, religion, or any other reasons people find just to be hateful towards others. Some forms of victimization include; bullying, peer pressure, abuse (sexual, physical, verbally, mentally), robbery, assault, etc.. Victimization can be aimed towards one single person, a group, community, or even a family. Anyone can be a victim of crime, including but not limited to you.

In July of 2019 in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 13 officers were fired and 72 other officers were removed from street duties for their social media activities. During a giant sweeping investigation were caught making obscene, racist, and crude comments about specific groups of people on their Facebook posts. A lot of these posts included comments such as; ?death to Islam?, referring to African Americans as ?thugs?, homophobic slurs, advocations for violence against transgender people, and encouragement for police brutality.

This was one of the recent huge media outbreaks which showed criminal victimization. These were unfair and showed that the justice system has its flaws. However, thanks to the Philadelphia police force, they were able to put a stop to these and took legal precautions against these issues before they got any worse. There have been cases of bullying and assault against transgender people, amongst others that are part of the LGBTQ group. There are also many more cases where African Americans were assaulted or arrested under false pretenses of self defense by the officers who attacked them.

Just for the sake of understanding the concept of ?victimization? a little better, researchers have broken it down into four well thought out theories. Theory one is victim precipitation. This theory basically suggests that the victim instigated or pursued the confrontation that ultimately lead to the victim?s injury and sometimes even their death. An example of this was found in 1971, when Menachem Amir suggested ?female rape victims often contribute to their attacks by... pursuing a relationship with the rapist.'

The second one is known as the Lifestyle Theory. This theory suggests that people have a tendency of becoming victims of crime when their lifestyle changes and makes them vulnerable to criminal offenders.So when people affiliate themselves with gang members, they are at higher risks of being victimized. The more protected these groups make them feel and the more they involve themselves in this crowd the more likely they will be to be categorized into this group and by default be considered as a gang member.

Last but certainly not least, there is The Deviant Place Theory. This theory suggests that the longer a person visits a dangerous or corrupt area that more at risk they are of being exposed to violence. This will ultimately result in them becoming a victim of crime. For example if you live in an area of high crime, you?re more then likely to participate in the crimes to make a living or ?fit in? depending on who you are and your age group. On the other hand, if you don?t end up partaking in the crimes you?re more then likely to become a victim of crimes such as robbery, rape, or assault.

Finally, there is The Routine Activities Theory. This theory suggests that offenders tend to observe the patterns associated with a persons habits and what they do on an everyday cycle. Once these offenders find the pattern, they act. Whether it be a rapist searching for his prey or a criminal looking to rob a person who is know for having a heap of sale able goods.

Some of the sources used to obtain crime reporting data are The Bureau of Justice Statistics, Crime Solutions, Crime Victimization Survey Resource Guide, amongst other government sites.

Some of the patterns and trends that we see in victimization are too many to keep track of. However, there are a few I?d like to mention. Most robbery?s against households came seasonally and mostly during the summer time. However, the only difference in the highest and lowest seasons were only 11% rates. Grand theft auto cases tend to be higher in the summer and winter, then in the spring time. When it came to violent crimes such as assault there was only a 12% rate difference between the highest and lowest seasons. Major assaults were highest in the summer seasons but the lower assault crimes were done during the fall season. Rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence by partners were all at the highest peak during the summer seasons.

When it comes to victimization, it impacts society in the worst ways especially when it comes to the victims themselves. I personally have been a victim to rape. It took many years to admit it, because it caused so many lasting effects. So amongst me are the other thousands upon thousands of victims. Being a victim causes long term psychological issues like depression; both manic and chronic which causes a loss of energy and interest in doing the activities they did before the incident.

Victims can also experience physical injuries that can be long lasting if not taken care of properly, financial hardships, and/or damage to property. The most important one would be the injury that is sustained psychologically. Some other mental issues are numbness, shock, denial, disbelief, anger, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), pain, as well as a sense of self loss. Victims become a victim to themselves shortly after being victimized.