Victims in the criminal justice process
The responses of the criminal justice system to victimisation and in particular the operation of the criminal trial retain an enormously symbolic position in the public’s consciousness around criminal victimisation (Kirchengast, Victims and the Criminal Trial. London: Palgrave, 2016). From a cultural perspective then the criminal justice process has enormous significance. The trial itself is the most publicised component of the criminal justice process, and we know the majority of people still base much of their opinion of the justice system on knowledge obtained though media portrayals of it: both fictional and non-fictional accounts (Dowler, Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 10:109–126, 2003). This chapter will turn its attention to the criminal justice process itself, offering an evaluation of substantive changes made to that system since the coming to power of the 2010 coalition government. In so doing, the chapter will highlight the extent to which reforms made in the criminal justice process might reflect the cultural and political contexts outlined in Chaps. 1, 2 and 3.
Police Attitudes and Dispositions in Domestic Disputes: The London Study
This article presents some of the findings of the London Domestic Violence and Policing Study conducted in two police districts, Holloway and Hounslow, during 1984 and 1985. It examines both police dispositions to calls for assistance and attitudes of serving officers to the problem. The study examines all police records over a 12 month period and is based on 44 in-depth interviews with serving officers. Despite increasing concern, some police officers still do not consider domestic disputes as a legitimate aspect of police work, even when violent most incidents are interpreted as evidence of family disequilibrium, rather than potentially violent episodes. It is argued that the main problem lies not so much with inadequate legislation but with its implementation. Certain changes within the law and police initiatives may make for more justice for victims of such violence. in the U.K., the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 makes spouses compellable witnesses, the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 provides for the setting up of an independent prosecutor in each area. The Criminal Justice White Paper (March 1986) suggests the improvement of support and reparation to victims and the Metropolitan Police have implemented new training programmes for the handling of such disputes.
Reporting Crimes to the Police: The Status of World Research
Since the mid-1960s there has been a great deal of interest around the world in the use of sample surveys of the general population to study crime. The advantages of doing so have been discussed in detail many times (National Research Council, 1976; Biderman, 1967). Crime surveys have been conducted in many nations, a practice that is continuing despite their heavy cost. Large-scale national surveys have been conducted in the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Great Britain, and Sweden. Smaller but regular national studies have been carried out in the rest of Scandinavia, and there has been a national survey in Spain. There have been large surveys of victimization in individual cities in Germany, Switzerland, and England. Statistics Canada has completed very large studies of seven major cities, including two surveys of Vancouver, and the Israeli Census Bureau has added victimization questions to a national survey. In addition, small but useful city studies have been conducted in Mexico, Colombia, Israel, and Belgium. The four islands that make up the Dutch Antilles also have been surveyed. The findings of these surveys have accumulated to the point where it is possible to perceive cross-national regularities—or clear inconsistencies—in what they reveal.