The concept of victimology primarily refers to the study of the victim and how they are related to a crime. Investigators psychological effects to determine the effect of a crime on victims ( Smart, 2013) . This training material contains three scenarios that act as an example of how detectives, first responders as well as recruits should conduct the process of victimology in their line of duty. The case scenarios shall cover stalking, stranger violence and finally intimate violence. There will be queries to answer as a way of evaluating the understandability of trainers on how to apply the lessons learned.
Scenario 1: Stranger Violence
A couple of years ago in Momand Dara district, a young teenage boy was hit by a driver and unfortunately died on the spot. After the driver had a negotiation with the family members of the boy, they demanded for compensation with a girl. Therefore, the taxi driver had to purchase an 11 years girl with the name Fawzia at a subsidized price of $5000. According to the records in the Afghan Women's Network office located in Jalalabad, the girl has shot dead three years ago. There is a two-page case filed against women violence on Fawzia.
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Questions and Answers
Who are the victims in the case scenario?
The victims in this scenario include the taxi driver and the boy’s relatives involved in the negotiation.
What are the major problem in this case?
There are two major crimes in this case. The first crime is the act of killing a boy and the second one is the inhuman act of using the girl’s life as a way of compensation.
Which are the true dimensions of the case?
The scenario can be associated with cultural aspects of forced marriage. There is also the aspect of gender violence according to the information in the record.
How should an investigator handle the outlined Victims?
The researcher should consider the scenario being a stranger crime. Reason being, there is an element of human trafficking and destruction of human life. The scene can also be termed as stranger violence ( Smart, 2013) .
Is there any evidence available to test the case hypothesis?
The girl act as the evidence against the contradicting information in the reports that she had been shot dead three years ago.
Scenario 2: Stalking
In the year 2013, a celebrity by the name Jennifer Capriati who use to play tennis started to stalk her ex-boyfriend. According to the information given by the victim, Jennifer was sending numerous threat messages that made him feel uncomfortable. To be precise, she had sent 283 text messages on the day of reporting. Apart from that, Jenifer was secretively following the ex-boyfriend as he attended the gym and back home. One day she is said to have confronted and punched him about four times at the gym. As a result, the ex-boyfriend felt threatened and needed the intervention of law enforcers.
Questions and Answers
As an investigation officer, how would you begin the investigation?
It is advisable to start by collecting any evidence that proves Jennifer was stalking her ex-boyfriend. That includes pictures and text messages.
What are the essential elements of stalking crime to be considered in Jennifer’s case?
According to the setup of this case, three essential elements are to be regarded as namely conduct, intention and victim response.
Which are the stalking behaviors present in this instance that allow the investigator to victimize Jennifer?
The stalking behaviors seen in this case include regular follow-ups for the boyfriend by Jennifer and sending numerous text messages via phone.
What type of is stalker is Jennifer?
Jennifer is a rejected stalker since they had an intimate relationship with the ex-boyfriend.
Suggest the kind of penalties that Jennifer should be subjected to if found guilty after an investigation.
The case can be categorized as a misdemeanor stalking which calls for incarceration, fines or even five years imprisonment ( Weisburd, 2015) .
Scenario 3: Intimate Violence
Gurjit Dhaliwal is a woman who was driven to commit suicide by the quiet intimacy in her home in 2005. The woman was found hanging in a room at the home garden by her 20 years son who followed the footprints formed in the morning snow. According to Dhaliwal’s brother Jagpal, her sister had been suffering mental torture from her husband Harcharan for many years. He believes that the domestic torture is what made her sister commit suicide. Therefore, his only wish is to seek justice for the sister although dead.
Questions and Answers
Describe how intimate violence investigation should be conducted.
The first step is to collect material information about the victim and the suspect. After that, as an investigator, it is advisable to ensure the safety of complainants when collecting evidence ( Fisher, Reyns and Sloan, 2016) . If evidence is collected to support a trial, a domestic violence arrest order is given to the suspect.
What are the factors to consider when conducting an intimate violence investigation?
The officer should consider the relationship between the two partners. In this case, their relationship was husband and wife. There is also the aspect of domestic violence history in the family ( Weisburd, 2015) . The degree of injuries should also be a concern as well as the testimonial evidence from other parties.
Is it possible for Harcharan (the husband) to win the case against the wife’s brother?
Yes, it is possible. If the investigator lack supportive evidence that indicates any intimate violence, then the allegations are more likely to be dropped.
Victimology and Criminology
The two discipline tend to be confusing when it comes to application in the field. Victimology is primarily a subsection in the criminology discipline. It involves investigations on a crime committed to identifying the victims and evidence present to victimize a person. Criminology comes in when law enforcers are required to determine the type of crime, type of criminals as well as the law applicable to different crimes ( Turvey, 2013) . It also involves the activities carried out in the justice system to decide the penalty deserved for a specific crime.
Summary and Conclusion
From the above-discussed case examples, the process of victimology begins by identifying and describing the nature of the problem. The second step is usually measuring the true dimensions of the issue to know how to conduct the investigation. After that, the officers on the ground need to investigate on how the victims of the crime will be handled. Finally, the evidence is gathered to test the validity of the hypothesis ( Walklate, 2013) . It is important to learn more about law enforcement procedures to avoid conflict as a result of mishandling victims and tampering with evidence used to test the hypothesis. Victims have right to protection during the investigation. Suspects are also entitled to their human rights and should not be harassed until proven guilty by the court. Ultimately, theories of victimology, as well as criminology, play a vital role in ensuring there are no biases in the criminal justice system.
References
Fisher, B., Reyns, B. W., & Sloan, J. J. (2016). Introduction to Victimology: contemporary theory, research, and practice .
Smart, C. (2013). Women, Crime, and Criminology (Routledge Revivals): A Feminist Critique . Routledge.
Turvey, B. E. (2013). Forensic victimology: Examining violent crime victims in investigative and legal contexts . Academic Press.
Walklate, S. (2013). Victimology (Routledge Revivals): The Victim and the Criminal Justice Process . Routledge.
Weisburd, D. (2015). The law of crime concentration and the criminology of place. Criminology , 53 (2), 133-157.
