NCJ Number
133393
Date Published
1984
Length
233 pages
Annotation
The Helsinki Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations, held a seminar entitled "Towards a Victim Policy in Europe" in October 1983.
Abstract
The participants first considered the position of the victim in the systems of several European countries and noted the recent development of interest in victim rights and status as well as the possibility of an interagency response to crime victims. A portion of the seminar was devoted to a discussion of alternatives to the criminal justice system vis-a-vis the victim. Some of the topics included alternative conflict resolution, civil litigation, the psychological effects of victimization, and special victim-offender relationships. In the discussion on developments within the criminal justice system, the participants touched on the interrelationship between the victim and the system, the need for improvements in criminal procedure, different national methods of prosecution, and the range of victims' rights. A principal subject of discussion involved various means of securing restitution for the victim from the offender. The final segment of the seminar focused on possible associations between victim characteristics and the actual victimization, mechanisms through which potential victims avoid crime, and the current trends toward increasing situational crime prevention. 4 appendixes