Victimology and Social Psychology of Groups - Essay Example

?VICTIMOLOGY One of the most difficult jobs as a prosecutor is enforcing a multiple crime offense in one family. The Smith family has gone back on admission of their father being a wife beater and a child molester. Was it out of fear that Mrs Smith reneged on her admission or was it part of the BatteredWifeSyndrome, stage 2 of guilt or the Power and Control Wheel?(BWS, Power&Control) The husband makes light of the abuse and puts her down of being concerned or does Mrs Smith feel guilty about causing pain to her family or about her being the cause of her family splitting apart. This is one of the primary reasons why a woman will stay in a violent relationship. The outcome of splitting up the family is far more detrimental and less than staying in the relationship. (Thibaut & Kelley 202) The Smiths came to Pasadena 9 years ago. They lived out of State when Mary was 4 years old. The Megan law only requires that convicted Sex offenders register every 10 years. We actually have no idea if Mr Smith was a convicted felon. He has lived a quiet life and his daughter will not talk. Up to the age of 14 included, she can be removed from her home. Mrs Smith will not file for an ORDER FOR PROTECTION, the court order which protects both her daughter and herself from further abuse. A restraining order can be filed. California has new legislation which will help improve on the inadequacies of the Megan Law. This new law would have helped the Smith's deposition as it would not have been accessible to Mr Smith. The Cook Legislation will make it obligatory for out of state sex offenders to register when they come to California. Law Enforcement agencies will give written notification within 1000 feet of pedophiles. The third bill would put a special mark on their driver's license. The last bill will keep private the victim's statement until the court appearance. The last resort to the Smith file is to enforce a no drop policy. Mrs Smith will not testify nor will her daughter. The prosecutor has the right to go and arrest Mr Smith and take him to trial. It is not the claimant who decides to drop all charges. As Mrs Smith is suffering from BWS, she need help herself Each time her daughter was sexually abused, Mrs Smith threatened to go to the police. Having been beaten more than two times means that you suffer from Battered-Wife-Syndrome. Two cycles of abuse create post-traumatic stress and an inability to be able to react to such things as taking care of the atrocities that are happening to your daughter. Can it be classified as episodic abuse when there are two members in the family? We don't have enough information other than both of them will be needing treatment. The fact that she was beaten when she threaten to go to the authorities shows that Mr Smith was also using emotional blackmail. The power and control wheel is a strong technique: using isolation, minimizing, denying, and blaming, using children, using male privilege using economic abuse using coercion and threats. Part 2 As your client's lawyer you must inform her of the Victim's Bill of Rights of the State of California passed in 2008. She has the right of the following: compensation and restitution as a crime victim: she has the right to be compensated for crime related losses including burial expenses. restitution fine from $200 to $10 000 to go to fund the Victim Compensation Program as indicated in the Marsy's Law. Any compensation for "pain and suffering" must be brought to civil court As Mrs B lawyer, I must recommend to Mrs B that we contact the California Victim Services to find out all the possibiltiy open to her and her children in regards to the Marsy Law Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008. The suggestions above are to give her a general understanding. This Law was set up to provide all victims with rights and due process. She has the right under due process of the law to compensation by tort law. Her husband would have provided for her children and her welfare for a duration of time.. If the judge decides to sentence Mr C to a reduce plea with no victim compensation, she will have to rely on other means to receive retribution.. As she is a grieving widow with ground cause, there is very little I can recommend for her to give her retribution. There are grounds for a civil suit of wrongful death of her husband. Mr C was drinking and driving. He had no previous records but he took the initiative and did kill someone. This would give her some financial restitution. If Mr C does go to trial, under the Marsy's law of California, Mrs B would have the victim rights of notification regarding sentencing and she would be able to make a statement with her lawyer. If Mr C decides to make a plea bargaining, Mrs B also has the right to be present under this legislation.. (Marsy's) There are many victim rights groups such as MADD - Mothers Against Drunk Driving which serve to help people as Mrs B who are in no win situations. They serve as a place where one can talk and be heard. 3. The following is the FBI source for Table 6 crime indexes. The only sources available at this time were for 2009. There are 8 different crime indexes.The sources used for the State of California were from Rand California Data base per 100 000 population where there were detailed crime categories for more than 900 California jurisdictions and areas. The indexed crimes are divided into 9 categories: aggravated assault, arson, burglary, forcible rape, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft property crimes, robbery, violent crimes, willful homicides. The definitions of the crimes are far more explicit that those of the FBI. I have numbered the definitions so that they can be compared to the list. The list has been taken directly from the site. 1. Aggravated assault, 2. Arson 3. Burglary 4. Forcible rape, 5. Larceny-theft, 6. Motor vehicle theft property crimes, 7. Robbery, 8. Violent crimes, 9. Willful homicides, 1)unlawful attach upon for purpose of inflicting serious injury 2)willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn a houseing, building, or other personal property 3)unlawful entry or a structure to commit a felony or theft 4)carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will 5)unlawful taking of another's property ­­6)theft or attempted theft of motor vehicle; 7)crimes against property, including burglary and motor vehicle theft 8)taking or attempting to take anything of value by force or threat or force or violence 9)willful killing of one human by another, including negligent manslaughter City of Monrovia : California (CA) Violent Crime Property Crime City Population: 38,245 Murder: 2 Forcible Rape: 9 Robbery: 38 Aggravated Assault: 57 Burglary: 198 Larceny or Theft: 642 Car Theft: 171 Arson: 8 California (CA) Pasadena City Population: 141,178 Murder: 4 Forcible Rape: 38 Robbery: 265 Aggravated Assault: 393 Burglary: 849 Larceny or Theft: 3,206 Car Theft: 531 Arson: 52 I compared the city I lived in with the city I worked in. Pasadena is 3.69 time the size of Monrovia which is a sleepy town that doesn't have the hotels or the business traffic that Pasadena does. All the crimes were geometrically higher except for murder which could be explained for domestic murders as a result of domestic violence which exist in all social economic societies of the United States. The other crimes were geometrical became you have the population difference as well as the economic difference. One must take into account the constant traffic of the hotels, restaurants and theaters. Burglary into a commercial structure might not have victims if it is after hours. Motor vehicle theft could also not have immediate victims other than the psychological trauma afterwards. These two jurisdictions have a relatively low crime rate in respect to the rest of the state. It has been impossible to find statistic regarding different cities and jurisdictions in the State of California. I assume because the State government does not want it to be accessible to public knowledge. I did find statistics showing that in the year 2000 California was ranked as 30th as the highest total Crime Index and 9th as the most violent crime occurrences. In the year 2010, California has 4 of the safest cities and jurisdictions in the country. Therefore one can assume that the ranking of 11 years ago has changed. I have done much research and not been able to confirm either assumption. The Megan Law, the revision of the law with the Cook Legislation, Marsy's Law 2008, and the attitude shifting towards the victims and the restitutions and compensation through mandatory screening and social awareness have all changed the role of the victim. The victim of the 21rst century no longer is silent but is heard. References http://ag.ca.gov/victimservices/marsys_law.php http://ca.rand.org/stats/community/crimerate.html http:/cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Monrovia&state=CA http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/cacrime.htm http://www.letswrap.com/dvinfo/wheel.htm http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/battered+woman+syndrome http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_06.html http://www.registeredoffenderslist.org/ Thibaut, and Kelley. The Social Psychology of Groups. "The Social Exchange Theory" (1959): 196-2006. Web 17 February, 2011. http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/past/2008/general/text-proposed-laws/text-of-proposed-laws.pdf#prop9 Read More