How Victims Can Protect Themselves
There are several ways in which potential victims can protect themselves. First of all, it is crucial to think rationally and stay away from any criminal activity. Second, any given individual should be aware of the importance of protecting their vulnerability. On a bigger scale, the notion of vulnerability is inextricably linked to the notion of humanness (Quinn, 2015). Another trivial way to protect yourself from being victimized is to choose the company carefully. There should be only a small circle of people who share the same lifestyle and ideas. One of the most rational ways to protect yourself is to avoid allowing strangers to enter your home. This living concept is rather simple, but its effectiveness has been proven by numerous research projects. Depending on the area the individual resides in, it may be useful to spend a reasonable amount of money on home security. The implementation of such precautionary measures will positively affect the well-being of the individual and minimize the chances of being victimized. One of the most underrated ways to decrease the victimization possibility is to be careful with valuables (Quinn, 2015). This means keeping expensive things or important documents in a safe place. Lately, neighborhood watch becomes more and more popular among American citizens. This method is an efficient crime deterrent as the majority of criminals are commonly avoiding communities with a neighborhood watch. It is also reasonable to evade potentially unsafe areas when walking alone and discard routine actions as often as possible (Wagner, 2013). Any individual should not entrust their belongings to other people as it may negatively affect interpersonal relationships or lead to other adverse outcomes.
The Rates of Victimization
The rates of victimization are highly contingent on a variety of seasonal patterns. The so-called seasonal patterns evolve when a certain trend is identified in terms of victimization rates during a set time interval. The issue of seasonal patterns is a very popular topic among numerous authors. These authors are known for linking things such as daylight hours and temperature changes to variations in annual crime rates. Moreover, there is a belief that the beginning and end of the school year also have an impact on the victimization rates due to the routine activity patterns developing throughout this time of the season. The existing reports on the victimization patterns show that there are numerous seasonal trends connected to household property victimization (Crawford & Evans, 2012). These include motor vehicle thefts and burglaries. There are also trends in violence which include robberies, different types of assault, and rapes. Some of the seasonal fluctuations in victimization were reviewed in terms of associated weaponry and other victimization data that might be useful for the research. The overall data on victimization showed that the burglary rates were peaking during the summer and were significantly lower during other seasons. Motor vehicle theft was not tangibly affected by seasonal patterns. According to the results of the research, the most evident victimization pattern was identified for violent crimes. Almost 70% of various types of assault and rapes occur throughout the summer (Beirne & Messerschmidt, 2015). Out of this 70 %, the majority of the simple assault cases happen during the fall. At the same time, the victimization rates of robbery during the fall and winter tend to zero. The victimization rates of crimes involving weapons also were higher during the summer and the fall.
Victimization Theory
The theory of victim precipitation can be perceived as one of the most controversial theories among all four. This theory is founded on the belief that the illegal activity ultimately leading to serious injury or even death may be unconsciously initiated by the victims themselves. The passive precipitation occurs when the victim covertly encourages illicit activity and provokes the attacker. Siegel (2015) considers that the love interest, job status, or other similar factors may be considered perfect examples of these covert behaviors. He also believes that the individuals that belong to minority groups or represent alternate lifestyles are also exposed to the threat of becoming a victim due to their defiance. The key focus of the victim precipitation theory consists in the fact that passive manifestation of violent behavior is always the consequence of authoritative issues. By the study of victimization, this theory can be applied to the politics where a politician may be vulnerable to the leader of an activist group. This happens because the politician realizes that the activist is aimed at exposing only negative aspects of the politician’s personality and the latter may lose his authority. Moreover, this type of precipitation may transpire even when the victim does not suspect that an aggressor exists (Siegel, 2015). In this case, the victimization is contingent on the provocative actions of the target individual. One of the debatable questions discussed within the framework of this theory is the contribution (sometimes slightly traceable) to the act of rape (including provocative appearance/ clothing or consent of intimacy). Overall, this theory can be applied to the study of victimization, but one should be aware of the fact that occasionally the victims are the ones who triggered the manifestation of illicit activity that resulted in an injury or death.
References
Beirne, P., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2015). Criminology: A sociological approach. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Crawford, A., & Evans, K. (2012). Crime prevention and community safety. Oxford Journal of Criminology, 3(44), 769-805.
Quinn, E. (2015). Crime victimization: A comprehensive overview. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Siegel, L. J. (2015). Criminology: The core (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Wagner, W. E. (2013). Practice of research in criminology and criminal justice. New York, NY: Sage.