Keeping Perspective: Victims of Crime
AUTHOR: Judy Turner
Most of us feel a deep sense of sympathy for victims of crime, particularly those families that have to live with the permanent loss of a loved one. My husband works voluntarily with “VICTIMS SUPPORT” and they deal with many individuals and families who have had their lives torn apart by an untimely death, or who have to pick up the pieces after their property or personal safety has been violated in some way.
Supporting people who are grieving needs to be done in a sensitive and caring manner and I was challenged this week by a thought provoking article that compared the work of Victims Support with the activities of the Sensible Sentencing Trust (SST). The SST promotes the idea that in NZ we are too focused on the rights of offenders and not supportive enough of those who are the victims of crime. They call for tougher sentencing measures and view any effort to improve outcomes for offenders as being done at the expense of their victims.
Tony Paine, CEO, Victim Support reminds us that it is not as simple as that; “It is very easy to talk about victims and offenders as if they were two quite separate groups (both demographically and morally). Of course the world is not that black and white. NZCASS (Mayhew & Reilly 2007 p.46) tells us that 50% of all victimizations are experienced by only 6% of New Zealanders and that the social and demographic
indicators that identify those who are most likely to be victimized are identical to the markers for those likely to be offenders. The life stories and cultural contexts that weave victims and offenders together (often within the same person) make any artificial separation between offenders and victims just that: an artifice that oversimplifies our
complex world.”
1 Mayhew P., and Reilly J. (2007) The New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey 2006. Ministry of Justice,
Wellington, New Zealand.
I would love to hear some feedback on what you think about this issue and would love to encourage you to read the full article by Googling “Rethinking Crime and Punishment”and going to newsletter No 66 Sept 09.