The link below concerns the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. A few years back, members traveled around the country and held a series of meetings attempting to unearth important themes related to crime and victimization. What are the key themes the OVC discovered? Do any of them relate to information in the readings? With the video and readings in mind, what aspects of victimization do you think the police should be concerned with “fixing” in the criminal justice system?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwoA5vL5dg
Sample Answer
1. Key Themes Discovered by the OVC
The OVC meetings and the resulting video, Voices of Victims: Criminal Justice Professionals, highlighted several consistent themes and deep frustrations expressed by crime victims:
Need for Information and Communication: Victims repeatedly stressed that the lack of information and poor communication from criminal justice professionals (police, prosecutors, courts) was a major source of secondary victimization. They need timely and accurate updates on case status, appeals, and notification of perpetrator release [01:10:09], [01:11:10].
Demand for Accountability and Respect: Victims felt their voices and suffering were dismissed by professionals who were either nonchalant [01:11:14] or prioritized their own metrics (like conviction rates or plea bargains) over justice for the victim [01:06:53]. They demand accountability from all participants in the justice system [01:04:25], [01:11:17].
Insensitive First Response: The initial encounter with law enforcement, especially during death notification [01:02:40], was often handled poorly, sometimes adding further damage [01:11:26]. Professionals often exhibited cavalier or self-protective attitudes [01:11:34], failing to show basic empathy.
The "Crime Against the State" Dilemma: Victims feel that the system views the crime as solely an offense against the state, leading to a profound sense of disenfranchisement and isolation. They feel their direct personal loss is ignored, particularly when prosecutors push for plea deals [01:05:25].
Justice and Closure: Victims face a "sentence to life" due to the endless process of trials, appeals, parole hearings [01:04:01], and the continuous burden of unresolved (cold) cases [01:09:44]. They need acknowledgement that unsolved cases haven't been forgotten [01:09:54].
2. Relation to Readings
While I do not have access to your specific readings, the themes discovered by the OVC directly relate to common topics in criminal justice, sociology, and victimology:
Secondary Victimization: The OVC themes heavily reflect the concept of secondary victimization (or post-crime victimization), where victims suffer harm not directly from the crime, but from the insensitive or inefficient response of social institutions, especially the criminal justice system.
Victim's Rights Movement: The demands for information, notification, presence at court, and the right to speak at sentencing directly align with the core goals and legislative victories of the Victim's Rights Movement, which sought to counteract the "Crime Against the State" mentality.
Procedural Justice: The complaints about judges falling asleep [01:09:09] or police hanging up [01:03:21] are failures of procedural justice. This concept argues that people's willingness to comply with the system depends less on the outcome and more on whether they feel they were treated fairly, with dignity, and with a voice throughout the process.