Psychological Effects of Victimization: Implications for the Criminal Justice System

1987 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Resick
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Psychological Reactions ◽  
The Past

The purposes of this article are to review research on psychological reactions to criminal victimization, to consider how victims might be affected by participation in the criminal justice system, and to offer some recommendations for the treatment of victims and their families within the criminal justice system. Over the past ten years there have been a series of studies conducted to examine the long-term effects of rape victims. Recently a study was conducted to compare the reactions of robbery victims with rape victims and to compare female and male robbery victims. This article will review the findings from these longitudinal studies with particular attention to victim reactions that may affect or be affected by participation in criminal prosecution.

What To Do With the Survivors? Coping With the Long-Term Effects of Isolated Confinement

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1005-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry A. Kupers
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Release Dates ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Core ◽  
Rule Breaking ◽  
Number Of Individuals

As a growing number of individuals suffering from serious mental illness are consigned to prison and selectively relegated to long-term isolated confinement, there is a newly expanded subpopulation of prisoners approaching their release from prison while exhibiting signs of mental illness and repeatedly violating rules. An attribution error and various forms of obfuscation divert attention from a cycle of longer stints in isolation and more rule-breaking behavior, until the time arrives to release the “disturbed/disruptive” prisoner. Since this subpopulation of prisoners is deemed dangerous, there is a crisis in the criminal justice system. There are attempts to solve the crisis by convicting the prisoner of additional crimes to extend prison tenure or by activating postincarceration civil commitment to a psychiatric hospital. These trends are examined, and the question is raised whether they address the core problems in the criminal justice system that result in more prisoners nearing their release dates essentially out of control behaviorally.

scholarly journals Wife Assault, The Justice System and Professional Responsibility

1995 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 908
Author(s):  
Diana Ginn
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Battered Women ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Professional Responsibility ◽  
Wife Assault ◽  
The Past ◽  
Key Players ◽  
The Way

The author reviews the response of the criminal justice system to the problem of wife assault by focusing on the key players within the system. The way the criminal law applies to wife assault affects battered women's access to that area of law known as family law, with negative repercussions for them and their children. Several myths about the nature of wife assault help ensure an inappropriate response. These include the myths that the woman is to blame, that by just leaving the abusive situation she can resolve it, and that if she does not leave it is because she enjoys the abuse. The author reviews current methods used by police, prosecutors and judges for dealing with wife assault and discusses the inadequacies of those methods. She concludes that despite many recommendations for change, there have been no significant improvements in the way the criminal justice system deals with wife assault. It is incumbent upon the legal profession to demonstrate professional responsibility by ensuring that wife assault is taken more seriously than it is now and than it has been in the past. This is a necessary reform before battered women can rely on the criminal justice system.

Conclusion

Outlaw Women ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 217-232
Author(s):  
Susan Dewey ◽  
Bonnie Zare ◽  
Catherine Connolly ◽  
Rhett Epler ◽  
Rosemary Bratton
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Mass Incarceration ◽  
Individual Choice ◽  
Dominant Culture ◽  
Frontier Myth ◽  
New Frontier ◽  
The U.S

Our Wyoming study offers direct implications for the U.S. prison system, which has reached a new frontier in terms of the sheer number of people incarcerated, on probation or parole, or experiencing the lifelong consequences of a felony conviction. Much like the frontier myth that continues to exercise influence in U.S. politics and dominant culture, mass incarceration is the result of popular acceptance of beliefs that ignore pervasive socioeconomic inequalities. These beliefs encourage the U.S. voting public to endorse addressing deeply rooted social problems, particularly addiction, through criminal justice solutions designed by the politicians they elect. Such is the nature of democracy in a society characterized by ever-widening inequalities between rich and poor, those with stable jobs and contingent workers, where the criminal justice system is fodder for countless films, series, and other entertainment, and where individuals rely far more on electronic communication than on meaningful social interaction. Social isolation and inequality breed fear, and three fear-based beliefs undergird the existence of the criminal justice system in its present form: drug-abusing women are a threat to public safety, law breaking is an individual choice rather than a community problem, and women released from prison pose a long-term risk to society.

scholarly journals The European AVIDICUS projects: Collaborating to assess the viability of video-mediated interpreting in legal proceedings

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Braun
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Legal Proceedings ◽  
European Project ◽  
Academic Researchers

AbstractThis paper reports on a long-term European project collaboration between academic researchers and non-academic institutions in Europe to investigate the quality and viability of video-mediated interpreting in legal proceedings (AVIDICUS: Assessment of Video-Mediated Interpreting in the Criminal Justice System).

scholarly journals Women, violent crime and criminal justice in Georgian Wales

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHERINE D. WATSON
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Law

This article examines encounters of women with the criminal justice system in Wales during the century before the Courts of Great Sessions were abolished in 1830. Drawing on evidence from cases of sexual assault and homicide, it argues that women who killed were rarely convicted or punished harshly. A gendered discretion of sorts also acted against rape victims, as trials never resulted in conviction. Using violence as a lens, the paper reveals a distinctively Welsh approach to criminal justice, and offers quantitative evidence on which further comparative studies of the history of law and crime in England and Wales may be based.

Deferring felony prosecution: a process evaluation of an innovative Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office program

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cossyleon ◽  
John Orwat ◽  
Christine George ◽  
Don Stemen ◽  
Whitney Key
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Cook County ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Felony Conviction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
First Time

Purpose The Cook County State Attorneys’ Deferred Prosecution Program (DPP) is a pre-trial diversionary program that accepts first-time, non-violent defendants charged with a felony crime. The purpose of this paper is to document the development, implementation, and program patterns of the DPP to better understand the program’s scope and reach in diverting defendants from traditional criminal prosecution. Design/methodology/approach The approach to evaluating Cook County’s DPP is primarily qualitative. Through interviews with program administrators and current and former participants, the authors document the process of creating and implementing such DPP that aims to avoid a felony conviction altogether. The authors provide program participant patterns to shed light on the program’s scope and reach in diverting defendants from traditional felony prosecution. Findings Using data from staff, administrators, and program participants, the authors found that the DPP was developed and implemented through supportive leadership who instilled a culture of collaboration and buy-in. Expanding the program could include increasing the capacity of DPP to include additional participants or having a DPP incorporated into each branch court, instead of the centralized system under which it currently operates. Increasing the capacity and scope of the program could both further decrease criminal court caseloads and most importantly avoid a higher number of stigmatizing felony convictions for first-time non-violent defendants. Practical implications DPPs are cost effective and can be easily implemented within existing systems. Collaboration and buy-in from all stakeholders are crucial to the program’s success. DPP offers opportunities for expansion. Increasing the capacity and scope of the program could both further decrease criminal court caseloads and most importantly avoid a higher number of stigmatizing felony convictions for first-time non-violent felony defendants. Originality/value The main goals of DPP were two-fold. The first was to minimize the level of resources allocated for non-violent offenders in the criminal justice system by diverting such defendants out of the criminal justice system early in the process and reducing the recidivism rates of program participants. The second aimed to provide an option for eligible defendants to avoid a felony conviction, thereby avoiding the collateral consequences associating with a felony conviction.

Forcible Rape

1977 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald D. Robin
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Reasonable Doubt ◽  
Rape Victims ◽  
Basic Definition ◽  
Standard Of Proof ◽  
Legal Position ◽  
Definition Of

Forcible rape is unique among crimes in the manner in which its victims are dealt with by the criminal justice system. Raped women are subjected to an institutionalized sexism that begins with their treatment by the police, continues through a male-dominated criminal justice system influenced by pseudo-scientific notions of victim precipitation, and ends with the systematic acquittal of many de facto guilty rapists. The codification of sexism centers in the legal elements involved in proving guilt and obtaining convictions. In effect, the law's focus upon corrob oration, consent, and character has established a standard of proof in rape cases that is more stringent than "beyond a reasonable doubt." Nonetheless, the processing of rape victims by the criminal justice system is gradually becoming more sensitive, facilitative, and reflective of the trauma experienced by the women involved. The legal position toward the crime is also becoming less sexist and more responsive to the realities involved in sexual assault. Both of these changes have come about through the efforts of the women's liberation movement. The most promising means for achieving more humane and dignified treatment of rape victims in the arms of the law have been "rape crisis centers." This approach to eliminating institutionalized sexism surrounding forcible rape has been significantly aided and abetted by successful attempts to modify the basic definition of the crime and to revise the legal elements needed for conviction.

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