Police Handling of Crime Victims

Abstract

Over the last 40 years, the treatment of crime victims has changed in the American criminal justice system. Once considered to be only witnesses in the adversarial criminal justice process, political and social movements have drawn attention to the rights of crime victims. This entry reviews the historical treatment of crime victims by police and the criminal justice process. Starting with the development of studies in victimology, the entry reviews social and political movements that made significant changes in the way law enforcement officers handle victims of crime. Specific attention is devoted to victims and crimes that have historically been ignored or minimized by the criminal justice system (i.e., women, children, rape, domestic violence, child abuse).