NCJ Number
81954
Journal
Abolitionist Issue: 9 Dated: (Autumn 1981) Pages: 1-6
Date Published
1981
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The need for radical criminology to commit itself to a more comprehensive and thorough analysis of crime victimization is discussed.
Abstract
Radical criminology has revolutionized thinking about crime through the reconsideration of the role of the state, capitalist production, and political struggles in stimulating criminal behavior. Radical criminology, however, has tended to shift emphasis away from the study of different types of offenses and has considered victimization only peripherally. The focus is on the offender and the process through which the offender has been victimized by socioeconomic inequities and the class-biased operations of lawmaking and law enforcement. Where radical criminology has been attentive to crime victims, they have most often been victims of white-collar crime, while the victims of street crime have been ignored, probably out of a reluctance to examine the harmful consequences of crime generally perpetrated by offenders from the oppressed class. Evidence from extensive victimization surveys in the United States shows, however, that victims of street crimes are predominantly young, working class members of ethnic minorities, the inhabitants of inner-city areas with severe social and environmental problems. What is needed is for more radical criminologists and those groups concerned with the penal system, community activism, the fight against racism and sexism to engage in action, participant observation, and survey research that will reveal the nature and extent of criminal victimization of all types. The evidence thus far would indicate that such research will trace the vulnerability of victims to socioeconomic forces that place them in circumstances and environments where victimization is more likely. Twelve references are listed.