Answer & Explanation:Application: Victims and the Criminal Justice System
More than half of all victimizations
in the US are not reported to police (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010).
Research has shown that low reporting rates of violent crime may result from
negative perceptions of law enforcement and victims’ concerns about how they
will be treated by the police and courts (Parsons & Bergin, 2010).
When victims do notify the police
that a crime has occurred, statistics show that the criminal justice system’s
response may not always be optimal. In 2008, police failed to appear at the
scene of 11.2% of the reported violent crimes in the US, and to 23.4% of
reported property crimes (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010). Fewer than half of
the violent crimes known to police result in arrests. Among defendants found
guilty in state or district courts, convictions occur overwhelmingly by plea
bargain—very few cases actually go to trial (U.S. Department of Justice, 2011).
These statistics may be very disappointing to crime victims, who wish to see
justice in response to their victimization.
For this Assignment, review the
scenario in this week’s Interactive Community. For each branch of the criminal
justice system (law enforcement, courts, and corrections), consider which
interactions with the victim were effective and which were ineffective. Think
about what could be done to help the criminal justice system better serve
victims.
The Assignment (2–3 pages):
Visit the transcript
For each branch of the criminal justice system, explain one
interaction with the victim that was effective and one interaction with
the victim that was ineffective and explain why.
Explain programs that could be developed for or made available to
criminal justice professionals to help better serve victims.
Readings
Englebrecht, C. M. (2011).
The struggle for “ownership of conflict”: An exploration of victim
participation and voice in the criminal justice system. Criminal
Justice Review, 36(2), 129–151.
Gur, O. M. (2010). Persons
with mental illness in the criminal justice system: Police interventions
to prevent violence and criminalization. Journal of Police Crisis
Negotiations, 10(1/2), 220–240.
Meyer, S. (2011). Seeking
help for intimate partner violence: Victims’ experiences when approaching
the criminal justice system for IPV-related support and protection in an
Australian jurisdiction. Feminist Criminology, 6(4), 268–290.
Patterson, D., &
Campbell, R. (2010). Why rape survivors participate in the criminal
justice system. Journal of Community Psychology, 38(2), 191–205.
Rashmee, S. (2010). In
between the system and the margins: Community organizations, mandatory
charging and immigrant victims of abuse. Canadian Journal of
Sociology, 35(1), 31–62.
Media
Laureate Education, Inc.
(Executive Producer). (2012). Victims and the criminal justice system.
Baltimore, MD: Author.
Transcript
TRANSCRIPT
“Victims and the Criminal Justice System”
Multimedia Program Transcript
INTRODUCTORY
PARAGRAPH:
In this week’s exercise, you’ll see how one
criminal act that only lasts for a few minutes can still have a psychological
impact on the victims that lasts for years.
This particular story begins at the offices
of the Peopletown Gazette, in the cubicle of their longtime sports columnist,
Jim Keane.
NARRATOR
(ALL IN VO): Jim Keane is a
sportswriter for the Peopletown Gazette. He loves football, baseball, his
family and Chinese food – though not necessarily in that order.
But, because Jim and his wife are thinking
about having a second child, Jim is also learning how to love saving money.
So, instead of paying for everything on
credit cards, Jim has resolved to only pay cash – as long as he has some. But
today is payday AND the start of football season, and Jim believes he’s earned
a lunch out with the boys at their favorite Chinese restaurant.
He just needs to stop by the ATM first.
JOHNNY (VO):
“Everybody get down on the ground, now!!!”
NARRATOR (VO): And, in that one
moment, Jim’s day changed in a way he never could have imagined.
JOHNNY (VO): “Put all the money
in a bag for me! Do it now!!!”
SFX: Police, through a radio / megaphone:
“This is the police! We have the bank surrounded! Everyone remain calm!”
NARRATOR (VO): Jim and the other
witnesses have been sitting in these seats for over an hour now, waiting to
give their testimony. JOHNNY’S SISTER: “I want to see Johnny Kelly! He didn’t
rob no bank! I’m his mother! No, I will NOT wait!”
FEMALE DETECTIVE (VO): “If you could all
just follow me? We’d like to speak with each of you, one at a time. You can
wait here.”
FEMALE DETECTIVE
(VO):
“Mister Keane? Let’s start with you.”
NARRATOR (VO): “They ask Jim to
verify his name and residence, and then, before they ask him for any details
about the robbery, they make it very clear to Jim that the consequences
of getting any of the details wrong are very, very serious.
JIM’S 2-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER (VO): “Daddy!” JIM’S WIFE (VO): “Honey, are you okay?”
NARRATOR (VO): “That evening, when
finally returns home to his worried family, he receives a phone call.” NARRATOR
(VO): The man on the other end identifies himself as a counselor who assists
recent victims of crime. Jim does not want to talk to him, and says so. The counselor
tells Jim that he’ll be
there if Jim needs him, and he gives Jim a number where he can be reached, if
Jim should ever change his mind.
NARRATOR (VO): Later that week, the assistant
detective contacts Jim and asks him to return to the station to view a line-up.
Jim is told to relax, and only to identify someone if that person is
present—not to feel pressured to pick anyone out. DETECTIVE (THROUGH
INTERCOM): “Number Four, please turn to the left.”
NARRATOR (VO): Several months later, Jim gets another call. He is
finally being summoned to take the stand as a witness to the crime. Jim feels
nervous, and he asks if his identity can remain anonymous. But he is told by an
administrator that he will have to appear in the courtroom, in person, and that
NOT to do so would be against the law.
NARRATOR (VO): In the weeks leading up to the trial, the
prosecutor meets with Jim and the other witnesses several times, to help
prepare them for what they can expect when they do testify. Jim is counseled to
keep his responses on the stand simple, only ever answering the question that
was asked.
NARRATOR (VO): Although the prosecutor had requested to use a
recorded deposition from Jim that would have kept Jim’s identity anonymous,
that motion has been denied.
NARRATOR (VO): Jim must report for the trial in person, and he
must testify in front of the alleged perpetrator.
NARRATOR (VO): When it comes time for the judge to issue a
verdict, Jim listens as the judge finds the defendant guilty and sentences him
to four years in prison. The thief jumps up in his seat and lunges in anger at
the witnesses who are seated behind the prosecution.
JOHNNY (VO): “This is your fault! I’m wasting
my LIFE because of you!”
NARRATOR (VO): “Jim feels very nervous. He leans forward to ask
the prosecutor about the possibility of witness protection, but the judge
demands that everyone in the courtroom remain silent.
NARRATOR (VO): “Nearly two years after the day the bank was
robbed, Jim thinks he sees the robber again, walking free. But how can that be?
He was sentenced to four years in prison – wasn’t he?”
NARRATOR (VO): Concerned, Jim texts his wife. She searches for
information about Jim’s case online and learns that the thief has indeed been
granted an early parole.
NARRATOR (VO): Jim begins to feel nervous as he goes about his
daily business. He sees a strange car parked outside of his home at odd hours
and wonders if the thief or his friends could possibly know where he lives.
NARRATOR (VO): When Jim checks the website of the People town
court system, he sees that his address is listed in the public records
connected with the trial.
NARRATOR (VO): Jim cannot keep his nerves under
control. He feels distracted at work and jittery at home. NARRATOR (VO): Jim
finds the phone number he wrote down so long ago, on the evening of that
attempted robbery – the number given to him by the counselor who works with
victims of crime. Jim calls and finds that the counselor is willing to set up
an appointment to talk.
NARRATOR
(VO): Jim then
calls the main number listed for the courthouse, and asks for information about
the witness protection program. The courthouse operator connects Jim with a
caseworker in the victims’ services office.
NARRATOR (VO): Jim is asked a
series of short questions about his situation, and then he is invited to visit
their office in person, to meet with a caseworker who can explain Jim’s
options.
Two or three pages with
at least three references….
It is important that you cover all the topics identified in the assignment.
Covering the topic does not mean mentioning the topic BUT presenting an
explanation from the readings.
To get maximum points you need to follow the requirements listed for
this assignments 1) look at the page limits 2) review and follow APA rules
3) create SUBHEADINGS to identify the key sections you are presenting and
4) Free from typographical and sentence construction errors.
REMEMBER IN APA FORMAT JOURNAL TITLES AND VOLUME NUMBERS ARE
ITALICIZED.
MULTIPLE USE OF INTEXT
CITATION
