Violent Victimization in the United States: Major Issues and Trends (White Paper)
Date
2014
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Publisher
Loyola University College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
This paper examines violent criminal victimization in the United States, including its measurement, prevalence, and costs. The focus is on aggregate assessments of the pervasiveness and costliness of violent crime in this country. Also discussed are various strategies for enhancing and expanding those assessments and various legislative and programming initiatives designed to help victims recover from the trauma of violence, which can be life-long and life-altering. While the observations and conclusions of this paper are based overwhelmingly on data, one section explores controversial theories of violent victimization, some of which feature the victim’s role in precipitating or participating in the attack. Notwithstanding their heuristic value, some of these theories have been difficult to test and therefore have generated limited empirical support. The paper falls into six major sections. Following this initial section (Section I), which presents an overview of criminal victimization and crime trends, Section II describes the measurement of violent crime, focusing mostly on the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the NCVS. Section III presents trends in violent victimization. Crime data from the UCR and the NCVS on the most serious violent crimes (i.e., homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) are presented. Section IV features an overview of the costs of violent victimization in financial and psychological terms. Section V enumerates the demographic characteristics correlated with violent victimization as well as controversial criminological theories on how victims’ lifestyles and behaviors might partially contribute to the risk of violent victimization. The paper finds that violent victimization rates consistently reflect an over-representation among victims and offenders of youth, minorities, and the most impoverished residents of urban areas. Section VI traces the victim’s rights movement and discusses the evolution and growth of crime victim services. Section VII recommends improvements in the measurement of victimization trends and textures, suggesting directions for future victimization research in order to more precisely capture the nature, extent, and consequences of violent victimization. (Author Text)
Description
White Paper
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Keywords
Research Overview, Assessment, Gaps in Research, Murder, Gun Violence, Firearm Violence, Shooting, Crime Reporting, Costs of Crime, Financial Burden, Emotional Burden, PTSD, Posttraumatic Stress
Citation
Lurigio, Arthur. (2014). Violent Victimization in the United States: Major Issues and Trends. Chicago, IL: Loyola University College of Arts and Sciences, 94 pgs.