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Meeting the Criminals

Shortfatdyke

05:15 / 10.05.02

what do you think about criminals being forced to face their victims?

the thames valley police believe this is having a significant effect and that re-offending has been cut. is it a soft option? or does everyone benefit: a victim can express the effect the crime has had on them, the perp can see them as a real person and that their actions have real consequences.

those who have been victims of crime - would you want to face the perp?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

05:47 / 10.05.02

I think it's a good idea in principle... my only worry with this kind of 'initiative', however, is it seems a step in the direction of putting justice in the hands of the victim, which, while it has a nice sense of "rightness" about it, does leave itself open to some abuse- for example, had the cops caught the guy that mugged me, I'd gladly have had him shot. Which seems a little harsh for twenty quid and a walkman.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

05:49 / 10.05.02

But (sorry, forgot to get back to the point there), I do think there is something to the idea of letting criminals realise the consequences of their actions. In many cases of course, they may well not care... but some people may genuinely not have thought of it from their victim's perspective.

Shortfatdyke

06:46 / 10.05.02

an additional question i should've asked in my original post: if any of you have committed a crime, would you want to meet the 'victim'?

Tom Coates

07:50 / 10.05.02

I suppose it depends on the motivation for the crime. Certainly if I had committed an act of revenge on someone then I would be very anti being exposed to them, and I would expect an escalation of my frustrations. Otherwise, the only crimes I've ever really committed were a couple of pilfered magazines and a couple of odds and ends of cheap software / music copying when I was a teenager.

Fra Dolcino

08:21 / 10.05.02

For more minor offences, it seems a better alternative to prison.

supervised meetings with the victim followed by a Community penalty 'contract' drawn up by victim & criminal that requires the criminal to conduct restitution work do seem to be having an effect and is apparently a great success on the continent (I think the Netherlands have applied it across the board).

It is useful in muggings and the like, for both parties: The perpetrator learns of the effect hir actions have caused and see the life behind the purse or whatever. The victim has the benefit of seeing the criminal personally and can help with the trauma after a crime.

Like Tom says though, really it should fit the crime. Robbery and other more 'random' violent crimes are the areas where this would work the best.

cakemix

21:24 / 10.05.02

how would this work in the case of drug crimes? could it...i'm thinking of so many scenarios but not sure if any of them would be right. if you are a dealer and got someone hooked, should you have to 'kick' together?

Shortfatdyke

21:31 / 10.05.02

not sure it could work with drug crimes: ie. i was burgled, apparently by a crack addict, who nicked a video and a piece of jewellery that had huge sentimental/emotional but not much financial value. also of course, the act of intruding into my personal space had a terrible effect for a while - BUT if someone's addicted to crack then money for the drug will be all that matters, i assume.

Ierne

00:18 / 12.05.02

The victim has the benefit of seeing the criminal personally and can help with the trauma after a crime. – Fra Dolcino

It can also be likely to exacerbate stress and trauma for the victim, depending on the severity of the crime. Speaking personally, I wouldn't want any of the fuckers who've mugged me in the past to get a good look at my face in the light of day, especially if they've been caught and have reason to be bitter. Because once they're out of jail, who knows what could happen?

Shortfatdyke

06:53 / 12.05.02

i would certainly hope, ierne, that this would be voluntary! and done on a case by case basis, rather than automatically for certain crimes. i agree that in some cases it could be counter productive - some 'victims' might feel empowered, but perhaps some perps might get off on the distress they've caused - read an interview with a former mugger recently, who said the main reason he did it was for the buzz and for the power he had over people.

w1rebaby

09:58 / 12.05.02

perhaps some perps might get off on the distress they've caused - read an interview with a former mugger recently, who said the main reason he did it was for the buzz and for the power he had over people.

On the other hand, in a case like this, perhaps the mugger would be seeing his victims as faceless and thus could enjoy having power over them without having to think about what they were feeling. Confronting the victim and seeing them as a real person might make them confront the fact that they were actually harming real people. Unless the guy was basically a sadist rather than a thrill-seeker, of course.

w1rebaby

09:59 / 12.05.02

fra dolcino really said a lot of what I just did in his/her post earlier on... and I agree with the point that it's probably most useful in "random" crimes where the perpetrator doesn't usually have to deal with the victim as a person, before or after.

Tom Coates

21:34 / 14.05.02

I have to say Ithere is one aspect of it that I really like - that it's not about punishment but learning. I think there's a lot more that could be done in the process of 'rehabilitation' that would be about learning. Unfortunately the same processes alarm me slightly. I mean - learning / rehabilitation / patronising nanny-state / uber-control / brainwashing... The lines are there but they're a little moist and fuzzy.

Tom Coates

21:35 / 14.05.02

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