This is a three page paper about criminology in general, but about a specific article in criminology in particular. The article is Ybarra, L.M.R. & Lohr, S.L. (2002). Estimates of repeat victimization using the national crime victimization survey. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 18(1). The article is related to previous readings, and to general theories of crime. The focus is on crime victimization and the national victimization survey.
¶ … victimization theories of crime. Victimization theories of crime focus on victim characteristics and behavior patterns, rather than focus exclusively on the perpetrators of crime. These theories help present a broader picture of crime rates and patterns within any given community. Victimization theories also help to identify vulnerable groups, and can therefore be helpful when creating public policy or law enforcement strategies.
Some victimization theories include victim participation theory, victim lifestyle theory, deviant place theory, and routine activity theory. Each of these theories can be useful in helping communities, individuals, and law enforcement officials discover ways of promoting public safety and minimizing crime. For example, a victimization theory revealing that people in a certain neighborhood are more vulnerable can help raise awareness about crime in that community so that the local residents and law enforcement can collectively pool resources.
Data on victimization can be used in a number of different ways. For example, the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics issues a Crime Victimization report called the National Crime Victimization Survey. The National Crime Victimization Survey is "the Nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization," (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011). The survey empowers victims by allowing them to share their stories and perceptions. Moreover, the survey collects data that can be used to estimate likelihood of victimization within at-risk groups. This information can be helpful not just to law enforcement officials but also to social workers.
Relation to Assigned Readings
The assigned readings have covered a variety of perspectives on crime and victimization, although none have focused exclusively on crime victimization theories. The National Crime Victimization Survey is used extensively in criminological research, which is why it is important to study the survey in greater depth. Crime victimization theories are integral to any theory of criminality, as well as to related fields such as sociology.
One article I recently came across had to do with crime victimization from a specific population: the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual community. In "Psychological sequelae of hate-crime victimization among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults," Herek, Gillis & Cogan (1999) found that rates of victimization are significantly higher among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual community than they are for their heterosexual counterparts. Moreover, the research showed that the ways gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals react to victimization is different from heterosexuals. "Compared with other recent crime victims, lesbian and gay hate-crime survivors manifested significantly more symptoms of depression, anger, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress," (Herek, Gillis & Cogan, 1999, p. 945). This type of research is extremely useful in helping individuals and communities become more self-empowered and resilient.
Citation for New Article
Ybarra, L.M.R. & Lohr, S.L. (2002). Estimates of repeat victimization using the national crime victimization survey. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 18(1).
In this article, Ybarra & Lohr (2002) use the National Crime Victimization Survey as the main source of data for the research. Therefore, the article highlights the importance of the National Crime Victimization Survey and ties into prior readings in that way. The article also relates to prior readings by showing how models of criminology can be used to study crime patterns overall. This article focuses on victimization models. The authors present a new algorithm for estimating incidences of repeat victimization.
Repeat victimization is therefore the focus of the Ybarra & Lohr (2002) research. Repeat victimization refers both to the probability that an individual will be a victim of at least one crime within a certain period of time; and to the number of specific incidences of crime each individual faces. The authors point out that the research is helpful with regards to crime prevention applications. The article does not focus on one specific theory of victimization, but rather, addresses victimization theories in general. Situational variables, lifestyle variables, deviant place, and routine activity variables are all taken into account.
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