Victim Theories

Victim Theories Student’s Name Institution of Affiliation Course Name Instructor’s Name Date Victim Theories In the criminal justice framework, victimization or victimology involves studying how the criminal justice system and criminal acts influence the victims of the cited crimes. Victimization further reflects on the dynamics involving victims and criminal offenders. Risk factors of victimology include locating in social disorganization and residing in areas with high crime rates. To comprehensively understand this complex topic, criminologists have established four critical theories of victimization: Lifestyle, Victim Precipitation, Deviant Place, and Routine Activity Theory. This paper reflects on these victim theories and provides real-life news stories that could help understand why some individuals are more prone to becoming victims than others. Lifestyle Theory Victimization based on lifestyle theory explains that people have an increased likelihood of becoming victims due to their choices and lifestyles. There are dangerous places and times, and those in these hazardous areas at a perilous time are prone to victimization (Semprevivo & Hawdon, 2021). A person can surge the risk of victimization via surged exposure to crime behaviors and improved exposure to motivated crime victims. Nevertheless, crime is not the sole lifestyle that can put individuals at risk of victimization as nonviolent tendencies, age, mental health wellness, and drug use surges the risk. If a person stays indoors most of the time, the likelihood of them experiencing a crime declines. Alternatively, spending most of the time in public contexts increases the risk of being a crime victim. For instance, going out alone increases the likelihood of individual victimization. Relating with known crime offenders surge once the probability of being victimized in the incidence of a crime. Real-Life News Story There are several notable stories and articles that lifestyle theory can support. One news article associated with the lifestyle theory is that of a Boston woman because of the victim's location choices and space. The incident happened when a man kidnapped a young female from a bar in Boston in 2019 (Aliyu, 2022). The lady was hanging around unaccompanied at night when a gentleman took her to a house. The article denotes that the lady was a prostitute in that region when the man abducted her. The victim held her captive for three days and assaulted her sexually in his house (Aliyu, 2022). In this context, the theory backs this article because the lady was alone at night. Besides, her job increased her likelihood of crime victimization because of participating in sexual acts with the strange person. Victim Precipitation Theory Victim Precipitation Theory, which appeared as a substantial concept in victimology and criminology, was developed by Marvin Wolfgang. The theory attests that the victim plays a significant role in criminal procedure, possibly commencing the series of incidents that contribute to victimization. This theory is mainly related to criminal activities such as homicide, assault, rape, and robbery. Instead of concentrating on the offender's intentions, it focuses on the interactions of the offender with the victim (McKee, 2024). Also, this theory initially argued that victims might lead to their victimization via their characteristics and behaviors. It denotes that various attributes or actions of victims, like aggression and pro...