NCJ Number
94938
Date Published
1983
Length
260 pages
Annotation
More than 100 interviews were conducted with criminal justice professionals and crime victims to examine the aftereffects of crimes, namely, the losses, agonies, frustrations, and inconveniences, and to identify how victims might deal with them.
Abstract
Five chapters concentrate on the criminal justice system and understanding the law: civil and criminal law, criminal law, crimes and violations, priorities of crimes, and who decides on prosecution; the defendant's and the victim's rights, and payment for loss; legal processing: discovery to sentence, when the police arrive, police identification, the arrest, arraignment, bail, the preliminary hearing, the grand jury, arraignment after grand jury indictment, pretrial procedures, plea bargaining, the felony trial, postconviction procedure, and appeals; and prosecutions for misdemeanor and petty offense infractions. The book's second section focuses on the crimes: personal crimes of violence; rape -- what to do if one is attacked and if one is raped, compensation for injuries, avoiding rape, rape crisis services, and new attitudes that benefit rape victims; property crimes; motor vehicle crimes; the family crimes of husband and wife abuse, child abuse, child neglect, and sexual abuse and incest; and the victimless crimes of prostitution and gambling. Appendixes identify victim compensation programs and rape crisis services, and a glossary and subject index are provided.