Fear Of Victimization Among University Students

Theories of victimization essentially does something morally unpopular, by discussing how the victim caused their own victimization. Identified below are four theories of victimizations and examples of both strength and weakness of each. The goal for this paper is to briefly define at the four theories in order to grasp a better understanding of how individuals can lessen the opportunity to become a victim of a crime.

Date rapes, hate crimes and theft have become an apparent concern on college campuses. The most disturbing crime on a college campus is a school shooting. Being a victim of any crime is the last thing any student or parent thinks of when choosing a college or university. The possibilities of danger on a college campus have been increasing over the years due to the reported crimes ranging from theft to murder. Because of the recent years of college campus reported shootings, both student and parent have become alarmingly concerned about

(Torres, S. 1998) Research indicates that fear of crime, whether self-imposed or realistic, can immobilize individuals, harm the local economy and negatively impact social interactions as well as the quality of life (Albanese, 1990 Skogan (1987) argues that crime victims believe that more crime exists, are worried about victimization and attempt to protect themselves. Parker and Ray (1990) as well as Krannich et al. (1989) revealed victimization to be a predictor related to fear of crime. Additional support for these findings was provided by Smith and Hill (1991), who showed that actual victimization appears to increase fear of crime by increasing the perception of vulnerability. (Torres, S. 1998) Research also shows that fear of crime among minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status is related to their vulnerability in the urban environment (Liska et al., 1982). The elderly who are physically vulnerable and less agile are more fearful of crime even though they are less likely to be victims. (Torres, S. 1998) The proliferation and presence of gangs in the United States is also linked to the concept of social incivilities and increased fear of crime. This problem of fear does not go away. The people not only have a constant fear, it continues to the next generation of people in

Fear of crime, especially random violence and new wave of "superpredators" by young Americans, is among the nation's greatest concerns (Lacayo 28). It has served as the motivation for countless numbers of people to change their lifestyles, take self-defense classes, install home security

Today’s society is full of insane and demented human beings who don’t seem to know right from wrong. A lot of people suffer because of this, especially college students. Simple assault, abduction, and rape are three crimes that have been on the rise throughout college campuses all over the United States. From 2008 to 2012 forcible rape increased by forty-nine percent in four-year colleges. It jumped from 2,370 to 3,621 in a matter of four years (Shapiro). We as individuals have the ability to help keep ourselves safe from these kinds of people. We are provided with a variety of resources and information including forms of personal protection, body strength, and safety in numbers. The problem is we are not utilizing these to the best of our ability. I know we all think that we are invincible and nothing terrible could happen to us, but the reality is, it can.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the variables associated with the fear of crime and how serious can crime would be estimate. There are three factors that will be examined in this research. The first is that people have fear of crime by age, martial statues and education. This paper will attempt to explain these variances through literature review. The author of this paper will analyze the data from all three factors that explain the fear of crime and the seriousness. This paper will attempt to explain the seriousness of crime and the seriousness across the variables included. The three control variables that will be used are: Age of fear of crime, marital statues, and education dichotomy. The data indicates that the hypothesis is that when these three variables are included difference are among age and education when fear of crime increase.

Crime occurring on campus at The Ohio State University is taken extremely seriously by faculty, students, and parents alike. It is a sensitive issue with numerous different opinions on how it should be handled. Some people believe in knowing as much specific information as possible about the crime and suspect, while others believe the release of this information will just lead to witch hunts and may negatively affect some students due to a multitude of reasons including ethnicity, background, or race. My plan is to discuss these two points of view and some psychological evidence that supports both beliefs.

Sexual assault on college campuses is a growing epidemic. Twenty five percent of college women are affected by sexual assault (A. Amar, T. Strout, S. Simpson, M. Cardiello, & S. Beckford, 2014, p. 93). Sexual assault is the non- consensual sexual touching of a person, in which a person is forced to engage in a sexual act against their will. Taking advantage of a person sexually is morally wrong, and causes victims of sexual assault significant emotional and physical damage. Sexual assault is a big issue because it is destroying the lives of college students. No one, that is, attending college, and has their whole life in front of them should ever have to experience trauma from such an act and have their whole future compromised because of it. But the problem is that the majority of the victims of sexual assault don’t report it. So what solutions are there to prevent sexual assault? Sexual assault on college campuses can be managed by enforcing a strict no alcohol policy on college campuses, so that it can not be used as a weapon by rapists. Sexual assault can also be thwarted through sexual assault prevention workshops to educate students and staff about the issue, and through the college administration, reporting sexual assault to local authorities, so that the legal consequences of sexual assault can be implemented. Out of the three preventative measures, having the administration report sexual assault to local authorities is more effective, because the crimes are

This book also provides readers with information criminal behavior. This book also teaches readers how to approach each crime with the routine activity theory.

In a study done by Mustaine and Tweksbury (1998), over a thousand college students in criminal justice/sociology courses in

The Routine Activities theory was developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson and is derived from rational choice theory (Walsh & Hemmens, p. 122). Cohen and Felson claim that crime is the result of “(a) motivated offenders meeting (b) suitable targets that lack (c) capable guardians” (Walsh & Hemmens, p. 123). The Routine Activities theory is used to explain not only crime rates but also risk of victimization. It is closely related to Lifestyle theory and often combined with it.

Fear of Crime in members of our society today has been widely researched. For the purpose of this essay, fear of crime is used in the context of an individual’s perceived risk of becoming a victim of crime. In this essay it is argued that the elderly and the youngest members of our society are the most fearful of crime and that, of these age groups the elderly have the lowest risk of becoming victims of crime. Firstly, research shows that fear of crime is wide spread and that certain age groups are more fearful of becoming victims than others. Secondly, that the Media’s portrayal of crimes contributes to society’s perceptions of safety and crime itself, increasing fear of crime in these age groups. Thirdly, that the Elderly

Before exploring the process of constructing campus crime as a social issue, Sloan III and Fisher (2011) found it necessary to report on the history of campus crime in American universities as the majority of the public assumes that campus crime is a relatively new phenomenon when in fact, campus crimes has been a prominent (yet not very visible) issue since the founding of the

Lifestyle theory shows victims’ exposure to their own lifestyle choices. This exposure can lead them to the criminal attacker and situations with their own choices. Examples of such actions are as follows: going out at night alone, living in a bad part of town, associate with known felons, promiscuous, excessive alcohol use, doing drugs, going down a dark alley, etc. Crimes taken place are not random, but a part of the lifestyle choices the victim has portrayed. This impulsive behavior or low self-control comes at a high risk for victimization. (2006) This style of life offers more opportunities for the crime to occur.

Fear of crime, especially random violence perpetrated by young Americans, is among the nation's greatest concerns. It has served as the motivation for countless numbers of people to change their lifestyles, take self-defense classes, install home security systems, and carry handguns for protection. Moreover, fear of crime has influenced politicians and