Introduction
Victim precipitation is the contribution made by a victim that either directly or indirectly encourages a certain reaction of the victimizer. The victim precipitation concept was used to offer an explanation of the role of a victim in incidents of homicides. Research on victim precipitation has shown that most of the homicides involving adults are partly fueled by the role of the victim. However, there are no studies to prove that victim precipitation applies in homicides where the victim is a juvenile. (Felson, 1998).
Applying the concept of victim precipitation to homicides
(Marciniak, 1998) argues that, it is important to focus on the role played by the victim on matters involving violent crime because most researchers studying crime are strictly concerned with the offender while ignoring or underestimating the contribution of the victim. According to the research conducted by The National Crime Victim Survey, criminal acts are not a random process. How much an individual is prone to risks depends on his/her lifestyle and regular activities and therefore victimization is especially involving violent crime which occurs more often to certain individuals than to others.
According to Davis (1997) Studies have also shown the existence of a close link between the victim and the victimizer. Even modern biology and psychology suggest that individuals who are violently delinquent have genetic traits and so this is also applicable to victims of genocide by analyzing their behavior type. Aggressiveness for example can lead to a violent reaction and subsequent victimization while incidences of rape are more likely to occur to girls in miniskirts. Therefore it is possible for the victim to shape as well as mold criminal behavior. According to a study conducted by Galway (1981) on homicides, among the 588 Philadelphians who were slain between 1948-1952, 26% of them were directly initiated by the victims. He suggested that in crime the victim is a positive precipitator. According to Davis (1997), a similar study was conducted by Voss on Chicago murders and found that 38% of the victims positively precipitated their own demise. According to Tumin (1969), about 14% of cases of aggravated assault, 5% of rapes, and robberies rating to 8% are victim precipitated. Homicides involving a husband and a wife where the wife kills a husband are more common where the husband has been more violent.
How victim precipitation is affected by crime prevention techniques
(Tepper, 2006) found that, victim precipitation can be minimized through the introduction of situational crime prevention strategies where the opportunities for a crime are reduced through measures that depend on managerial and environmental as well as technological intervention. Situational crime prevention is more involved in setting as well as the context of the crime and not just on criminals. It increases the effort required by the criminal to reach the target of homicide by making the target hard to access. This is based on the fact that by reducing the opportunities for crime significantly, homicides reduction is possible. An example of such a measure is by making the target less vulnerable; a concept known as target hardening. The action of the criminal may also be made riskier accompanied by less rewarding gains.
Conclusion
(Goetting, 1991) found that, a crime of homicide results from the relationship between the victim and the offender as well as the absence of a capable guardian during the time when the crime occurred. A capable guardian is any preventative measure of crime such as police patrols, locks, and door staff. Therefore, crime prevention techniques can positively reduce victim precipitation involving homicides.
References
Felson R. (1998): Effects of gender and intimacy on victim precipitation in homicide, Criminology: Blackwell Synergy, pp24-28.
Marciniak L. (1998): Adolescent attitudes toward victim precipitation of rape: Lexington books, pp45-49.
Victims and victimization. Web.
Tepper B. (2006): Procedural injustice, victim precipitation and supervision of abuse, Personnel Psychology: Blackwell Synergy, pp10-15.
Crime reduction through situational crime prevention. Web.
Goetting A. (1991): Female victims of Homicide: Ingenta connect pp23-27.
Violent nature of crime in South Africa: executive summary. Web.