NCJ Number
91097
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 11 Issue: 4 Dated: (1983) Pages: 287-299
Date Published
1983
Length
13 pages
Annotation
During the last decade, numerous programs were established to increase the alarmingly low rate of cooperation of victim/witnesses with lower court officials.
Abstract
It is argued that these programs were largely unsuccessful because they were based on assumptions about the motives of victim/witnesses and about the effect of their cooperation on case outcomes which were only partially correct. The article attempts to explain noncooperation by integrating what is known about the desires and expectations of victim/witnesses from recent empirical studies with what is known about the nature of the adjudication process from organizational studies of criminal courts. The article concludes that victim/witness noncooperation may not pose the major obstacle to prosecution that has been alleged, but that it is indicative of the failure of criminal courts to recognize that victim/witnesses have a legitimate interest in the adjudication process. (Author abstract)