CRIM1010 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Homicide, Communitarianism, Lay Judge
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Victims and Victimology
Introduction
-the term victimology was coined in 1947 by Benjamin Mendelsohn
-since it’s introduction, victimology was made up of concerns and interest and has shifted to
become a key area of concern within criminology
who is a victim?
-According to the United Nations General Assembly:
’victim means persons who, individual or collectively; have suffered harm, including physical or
mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their
fundamental rights’
-Victims can be divided into two categories:
I. primary victims; those who are the immediate victims of and directly impacted by, a
crime
II. secondary victims; those other than the direct victim who may suffer harms and traumas
such as family members, witnesses to crime, friends
-The extent and seriousness of the issues of victimisation in accordance to official crime
statistics whereby 800,000 and 1.4 million crimes are recorded each year in Australia
-In 2012, for instance, for every 100,000 Australians, there were 1.1 murders, 0.7 attempted
murders , 0.2 manslaughters, 2.8 kidnapping/abduction and 80 sexual accounts recorded
-the true extent of victimisation in Australia is grossly underrepresented (statistics) as only a
select range of crime is showcased e.g. personal and household offences
-victimisation affects people both directly (actual harm) and indirectly (fear of crime)
statistical accounts of victimisation
-There is no single source of data that provides a comprehensive picture of crime victimisation
in Australia
-multiple sources of data relating to aspects of victimisation
-The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) produces two major types of national data collection
on crime victimisation
•Recorded Crimes - Victims Australia data set
1. composite of administrative records on reported and/or recorded crime from state and
territory police agencies
2. direct reports from members of the public about their experiences of crime (attained
through household surveys) —> Crime Victimisation Australia survey and the Personal
Safety Australia Survey
3. experience of victimisation by Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people - National
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey data set
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
victims are recorded by police
-The ABS has defined ‘victims’ in various ways depending upon the offence;
Snapshot of crime collected by state and territory police services:
-offence category with a large number of victims recorded (2012, Australia: other theft,
unlawful entry with intent and motor vehicle theft
-overall number of victims increased by 1.2% between 2011-2012
victimisation rates
-to interpret the significance of statistical change from a year to year timeframe as changes in
the number of annually recorded crime victims fails to account for increases in the
population over time
-increases in crime counts may reflect the increase of population instead of a genuine
increase in the likelihood of a person becoming a victim of crime
-adjusting for population rates, provides an accurate representation of victimisation rates
•In 2012, there were 58 victims of robbery per 100,000 population, compared with 80 victims
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
of sexual assault per 100,000 population
•Between 1995 and 2010, assault was the most commonly experience personal crime, account
for the vast majority of recorded crimes against the person (e.g. homicide, assault, robbery)
victim characteristics
-Victim characteristic, such as sex, age and Indigenous/Torres Strait Islander status vary,
according to the nature of the offence category
-Based on 2012 recorded crime data (ABS)
•males were more likely than females to be victims of robbery (71%), blackmail/extortion
(71%), murder (67%) and attempted murder (71%)
•by contrast, females were more likely than males to be victims of sexual assault (83%) and
kidnapping/abduction (57%)
•77% of all victims of murder were aged over 25
•robbery victims tended to be older, with 45% aged between 20 and 34 years old
•victimisation rate for assault was highest in the 15-24 year age group for both sexes
•66% of assault victims in the Northern Territory identified as ATSI compared to 11% in South
Australia and 7% in NSW
•the rate of homicide for Indigenous people is 8.5 times higher than for non-Indigenous
people
relationship to offender
-Between 2008 and 2010, 73% of victims of murder knew their offender, whether a
friend/acquaintance (37%) or family member (36%)
-Only 13% of homicides across Australia could be classified as stranger homicides (occurring
between two parties that had no prior relationship)
-females were victimised by family members at a much higher rate than males (193 per
100,000 population, compared 75 per 100,000)
-males were assaulted by strangers at over three times the rate experienced by females (190
per 100,000 population compared with 57 per 100,000)
-In the Northern Territory, 66% of women were sexually assaulted by assailants known to
them, as compared to 49% of non Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander women
location of victimisation
-the location of crime varies according to the offence category
•most sexual assaults take place in a residential location (64%)
•robbery and kidnapping tend to occur in a community setting (39% each)
•In NSW and WA, the largest proportions of assaults involving male victims transpired at a
residential location (39% and 42% respectively)
victims as recorded by victim survey
-not all crimes will report their victimisation especially in regards to offences of sexual assault,
hence statistics to some extent to do highlight the true extent of particular crimes
-household surveys serve to provide a greater understanding of the nature and patterns of
victimisation across Australia and recorded statistics
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Introduction the term victimology was coined in 1947 by benjamin mendelsohn. According to the united nations general assembly: "victim means persons who, individual or collectively; have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights". Victims can be divided into two categories: primary victims; those who are the immediate victims of and directly impacted by, a crime. Ii. secondary victims; those other than the direct victim who may suffer harms and traumas such as family members, witnesses to crime, friends. The extent and seriousness of the issues of victimisation in accordance to official crime statistics whereby 800,000 and 1. 4 million crimes are recorded each year in australia. Victimisation affects people both directly (actual harm) and indirectly (fear of crime) statistical accounts of victimisation. There is no single source of data that provides a comprehensive picture of crime victimisation in australia. Multiple sources of data relating to aspects of victimisation.
