NCJ Number
136325
Date Published
1991
Length
50 pages
Annotation
The Detroit Police-Victims Project was designed to test the impact of police and civilian interventions on the psychological adjustment, attitudes, and behaviors of crime victims, including their willingness to work with the criminal justice system.
Abstract
The project also examined the adverse emotional consequences of victimization on the so-called "forgotten victims" of residential burglary, personal robbery, and assault. The research used two experimental designs. In the first, police recruits were assigned randomly to a special victim sensitivity training program. In the second, victims were assigned randomly to receive a home visit from trained civilian volunteers who were prepared to offer counseling, support, and referrals for social services. Finally, samples of victims and non-victims were compared on a variety of outcome variables. Results showed that the police training was very successful in changing officers beliefs and intentions, although some effects declined over time and the training had few measurable effects on victim attitudes. In addition, the civilian intervention had several positive effects on victims. Both the police training and the civilian intervention had more favorable effects on older victims. Finally, crime victims reported more negative psychological impacts than did non-victims. Tables and 107 references (Author abstract modified)