Impact of Crime

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Impact of Crime Critically assess the impact of crime on victims of violent and sexual offences Anyone can become a victim of crime it can have an effect to that person(s) in many different ways. We draw upon our article to critically assess what impact crime has on victims, in particular we discuss the impact of victims of sexual and violent crimes. In the UK it is estimated that a crime occurs every two minutes, and according to the British Crime Survey of 2011/2012 it shows that there was 2.1 million violent incidents in the UK alone, and these are only the recorded crimes. (British Crime Survey 2011/2012) Firstly let’s look what the definition of a “victim”, in 1985 the United Nations Declaration provided one of the first broader definitions of the term “victim” meaning a person who, individually or collectively who has, suffered harm, including mental, physical and emotional though acts that are a violation of criminal law, abuse of power and against Human Rights. (United Nations, 1999, page 116) The United Nations (UN) also refers to collective, direct and indirect victims the terms relate to various aspects of victimhood. Direct or primary victims of crimes are either harmed by injury; loss of property verbal abuse to name a few examples. in the case of violent crime often the impact can go a lot deeper than that of the victim themselves, quiet often whole communities can be affected which would be an Indirect (secondary) victim(s). The effects of a direct victim are well documented (Frieze, Hymer & Greenberg, 1987), this also extends to family, friends and witnesses alike all as a result of crime, and it can even include the likes of police officers who deal with the aftermath of a murder or sexual assault in particular acts preformed on children. (Denkers & Winkel, 1993). This article will pay particular attention to the emotional and
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