The victims of crime

Victims often remain without a face or a name. Everyone remembers the killer, who, quite rightly, is profiled in great detail in the press; the victim, on the other hand, is rarely mentioned and  often almost forgotten. For anyone whose work requires them to deal with the victims of crime, it is essential to understand their main psychological traits, in order to work out the best strategies of action.

This book, which features an introduction by the Chief of the Italian Police, Antonio Manganelli, and whose authors have active experience in the field, explores in depth a complex and still little debated topic, looking at it from different angles, psychological-social and criminological.

Indeed, little interest has been shown, within the field of criminology, in the rights of victims and the importance of understanding of their needs, even though these are factors essential not only in the gathering of  circumstantial evidence but also in reducing, or eliminating, the risk of a victim of crime falling victim a second time – to  insensitive  treatment within the criminal legal system.   

Despite the presence of many contributions in the literature, there is still a need to step up research in this area in order to verify the efficacy of certain strategies that have been proposed and to evaluate scientifically the repercussions of victim treatment on the long-term outcomes of crime. This book is an attempt to do just this.

This book is the result of collaboration between experts from academic and professional spheres who took part in a  important European project: “Attention for Victims of Crime (Daphne II Programme 2004-2008)”.