Impact of Constitutional and Statutory Protection on Crime Victims' Rights in Four States in the United States, 1995
Description
This survey of crime victims was undertaken to determine
whether state constitutional amendments and other legal measures
designed to protect crime victims' rights had been effective. It was
designed to test the hypothesis that the strength of legal protection
for victims' rights has a measurable impact on how victims are treated
by the criminal justice system and on their perceptions of the
system. A related hypothesis was that victims from states with strong
legal protection would have more favorable experiences and greater
satisfaction with the system than those from states where legal
protection is weak. The Victim Survey (Parts 1, 4-7) collected
information on when and where the crime occurred, characteristics of
the perpetrators, use of force, police response, victim services, type
of information given to the victim by the criminal justice system, the
victim's level of participation in the criminal justice system, how
the case ended, sentencing and restitution, the victim's satisfaction
with the criminal justice system, and the effects of the crime on the
victim. Demographic variables in the file include age, race, sex,
education, employment, and income. In addition to the victim survey,
criminal justice and victim assistance professionals at the state and
local levels were surveyed because these professionals affect crime
victims' ability to recover from and cope with the aftermath of the
offense and the stress of participation in the criminal justice
system. The Survey of State Officials (Parts 2 and 8) collected data
on officials' opinions of the criminal justice system, level of
funding for the agency, types of victims' rights provided by the
state, how victims' rights provisions had changed the criminal justice
system, advantages and disadvantages of such legislation, and
recommendations for future legislation. The Survey of Local Officials
(Parts 3 and 9) collected data on officials' opinions of the criminal
justice system, level of funding, victims' rights to information about
and participation in the criminal justice process, victim impact
statements, and restitution.
Resources
| Name |
Format |
Description |
Link |
|
0 |
ICPSR02467.v1 |
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR02467.v1 |
Tags
- criminal-justice-system
- victim-rights
- process-evaluation
- victim-safety
- victims
- victim-services
- constitutional-amendments