Critical Victimology Book

The status of the victim within the criminal justice system has recently become a controversial issue. In this comprehensive and timely text, the authors combine their extensive experience of the victims' movement to provide a theoretical and practical critique of the subject.Drawing on a wealth of local, national and international sources, unpublished documents and original research, the book outlines and discusses the issues facing victims today. The authors address the fundamental question: how can we best ensure justice for victims, while at the same time preserving the rights of defendants? The search for answers raises other key questions:· what are the risks of crime and do they vary from country to country? · what is the impact of crime on the victim? · how are victims treated by police, welfare agencies and courts? · why have governments become interested in victims? · can we learn from the experiences of policies in other nations? · how are services developing in the rest of the world, including Eastern Europe? This critical and comparative analysis of `victim services' offers important insights for students and academics in criminology, social work and social policy, as well as for victim support workers.Read More