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Liberal Victimology

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Victimology is a main subsection of the study of crime, Criminology. Specifically, victimology is the scientific study of victimization, including the relationships between victims and offenders, victims and the criminal justice system, and victims and other social groups and institutions (Legal, Inc. US). As researchers continue to learn more about victimology, the amount of subjects it covers, broadens. As victimology expands, so do the ideological tendencies related to victimology (Gadek). According to Karmen, an ideology is a coherent, integrated set of beliefs that shapes interpretations and leads to political action. Many criminologists have identified three main ideological tendencies that lie within in the domain of victimology: …show more content…

This theory states that it is quite evident that those who fall under this category show little to no responsibility for what happens to him or her (Gadek). The theory goes on to say that these people tend to blame others for being victimized and rely heavily on the government to provide many different treatment programs for victims (Hegger). The liberal ideology tends to include white collar crime and crimes that include a lot of victim and offender involvement. One of the top pros of the liberal approach is the help given to those victimized, they may not receive assistance under the conservative view; children, the elderly, the mentally disabled, and people with disabilities are all included. One con placed upon the liberal ideology is the lack of preventative measures taken because of the aftercare provided. This point of the liberal tendency brainwashes the victim to place blame upon everyone else, as opposed to taking responsibility for his or her own actions (Hegger). An example given by Hegger, is an unlocked car, parked in a high crime neighborhood, and left unattended. The victim may blame the police for not patrolling the area, if the car was stolen. Another example would be for a victim of identify theft to blame the bank for not administering enough identity theft

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