Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / Adviser: Jay Corzine. Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-137).

<p>I undersökningen om ungdomars attityder mot homosexuella ochheterosexuella brottsoffer utfördes ett experiment där 151 deltagare fick svara på en enkät. Det fanns fyra olika versioner av enkäter där brottsoffret varierade mellan hetero- och homosexuell man men även orten där brottet tog plats varierade mellan liten ort och stor stad. Resultatet visade ingen skillnad i ungdomars empati beroende på brottsoffrets sexuella läggning, dock visade det sig att unga kvinnor har något mer empati än unga män. Resultatet gav inte heller någon skillnad i ungdomars empati beroende på ort. Dock upptäcktes en interaktionseffekt i empati mellan ort och sexualitet som visade att om brottet tog plats i Stockholm kände deltagarna mer empati för en homosexuell man än en heterosexuell man samt att empatin blev motsatt i en liten ort. Resultaten visade ingen signifikant skillnad på empati mellan deltagarnas etnicitet och brottsoffrets sexualitet. Resultaten kan tillämpas som diskussionsmaterial för exempelvis gymnasieskolor.</p>

I undersökningen om ungdomars attityder mot homosexuella ochheterosexuella brottsoffer utfördes ett experiment där 151 deltagare fick svara på en enkät. Det fanns fyra olika versioner av enkäter där brottsoffret varierade mellan hetero- och homosexuell man men även orten där brottet tog plats varierade mellan liten ort och stor stad. Resultatet visade ingen skillnad i ungdomars empati beroende på brottsoffrets sexuella läggning, dock visade det sig att unga kvinnor har något mer empati än unga män. Resultatet gav inte heller någon skillnad i ungdomars empati beroende på ort. Dock upptäcktes en interaktionseffekt i empati mellan ort och sexualitet som visade att om brottet tog plats i Stockholm kände deltagarna mer empati för en homosexuell man än en heterosexuell man samt att empatin blev motsatt i en liten ort. Resultaten visade ingen signifikant skillnad på empati mellan deltagarnas etnicitet och brottsoffrets sexualitet. Resultaten kan tillämpas som diskussionsmaterial för exempelvis gymnasieskolor.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur de som jobbar med brottsdrabbade inom den engelska brottsofferjouren, Victim Support, förstår brottsdrabbades behov och sin egen roll i att bemöta dessa. Avsikten var även att undersöka hur traditionella föreställningar kring brottsdrabbade, och kategorier som manligt/kvinnligt, ålder, klass etcetera, påverkar denna förståelse. Studien utfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med volontärer och anställd personal inom Victim Support. Resultaten visade att jouraktiva väger in flera parametrar när de bedömer brottsdrabbades behov. Kategorierna ålder, kön och brottstyp framkom som särskilt betydelsefulla. Traditionella föreställningar om brottsoffer framträder också i intervjudeltagarnas resonemang och tycks påverka sättet man förstår sin egen roll som ”hjälpare” på. Klienter som uppfattas avvikande har ibland svårare att få adekvat stöd. Det är därför av stor vikt att alla som jobbar med brottsdrabbade blir medvetna om hur stereotypiska antaganden kan ta sig i uttryck och vad de kan få för konsekvenser. / The aim of this study was to investigate how people working in English Victim Support, understand crime victim's needs and their own role in addressing them. The purpose was also to investigate how traditional notions of crime victims and categories such as gender, age, class etcetera, affect this understanding. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with volunteers and staff of Victim Support. The results showed that the participants took several parameters in consideration when assessing crime victim’s needs. The categories of age, sex and type of crime emerged as particularly significant. Traditional notions of victims also appear to influence the participants understanding of victims and their own role. Clients perceived as deviant may also have difficulties in receiving adequate support. It is therefore important that all working with crime victims become aware of how stereotypical assumptions can manifest and the potential consequences of them. / <p>9302021242</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-160)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-160)

<p>The police interview is one of the most important investigative tools that law enforcement has close at hand, and police interview methods have changed during the twentieth century. A good police interview is conducted in the frame of the law, is governed by the interview goal, and is influenced by facilitating factors that may affect the elicited report. The present doctoral dissertation focuses on police interviews in cases of very serious crimes of violence and sexual offences. Results reveal crime victims’ and perpetrators’ experiences of being interviewed and police officers’ attitudes towards conducting interviews related to traumatizing crimes. Study 1 revealed that when police officers interviewed <i>murderers</i> and <i>sexual offenders</i>, the interviewees perceived attitudes characterized by either <i>dominance</i> or <i>humanity</i>. Police interviews marked by dominance and suspects’ responses of <i>anxiety</i> were mainly associated with a higher proportion of denials, whereas an approach marked by humanity, and responses of being <i>respected</i> were significantly associated with admissions. In line with Study 1, the victims of rape and aggravated assault in Study 2 also revealed the experience of two police interview styles, where an interviewing style marked by <i>dominance </i>and responses of <i>anxiety</i> was significantly associated with crime victims’ omissions of information. Moreover, a <i>humanitarian</i> interviewing style, and crime victims’ feelings of being <i>respected</i> and <i>co-operative,</i> was significantly related to crime victims providing all information from painful events. Special squad police officers’ attitudes towards<i> interviewing</i> <i>crime victims</i>, in Study 3, also showed a <i>humanitarian</i> approach and <i>two dominant approaches</i>, one affective and the other refusing. The attitude towards <i>interviewing suspects</i> of crimes in focus revealed <i>humanitarian</i> and <i>dominant</i> interviewing attitudes, and an approach marked by <i>kindness</i>. The present thesis shows that, during their entire career, an overwhelming majority of the special squad police officers have experienced stressful events during patrol as well as investigative duty. Results show that symptoms from stressful event exposures and coping mechanisms are associated with negative attitudes towards interviewing suspects and supportive attitudes towards crime victim interviews. Thus, experiences from stressful exposures may automatically activate ego-defensive functions that automatically generate dominant attitudes. Moreover, it is important to offer police officers who have been exposed to stressful events the opportunity to work through their experiences, for example, through debriefing procedures. After debriefings, police officers are better prepared to meet crime victims and suspects and, through conscious closed-loop processes, to conduct police interviews without awaking ego-defensive functions. </p>

The police interview is one of the most important investigative tools that law enforcement has close at hand, and police interview methods have changed during the twentieth century. A good police interview is conducted in the frame of the law, is governed by the interview goal, and is influenced by facilitating factors that may affect the elicited report. The present doctoral dissertation focuses on police interviews in cases of very serious crimes of violence and sexual offences. Results reveal crime victims’ and perpetrators’ experiences of being interviewed and police officers’ attitudes towards conducting interviews related to traumatizing crimes. Study 1 revealed that when police officers interviewed murderers and sexual offenders, the interviewees perceived attitudes characterized by either dominance or humanity. Police interviews marked by dominance and suspects’ responses of anxiety were mainly associated with a higher proportion of denials, whereas an approach marked by humanity, and responses of being respected were significantly associated with admissions. In line with Study 1, the victims of rape and aggravated assault in Study 2 also revealed the experience of two police interview styles, where an interviewing style marked by dominance and responses of anxiety was significantly associated with crime victims’ omissions of information. Moreover, a humanitarian interviewing style, and crime victims’ feelings of being respected and co-operative, was significantly related to crime victims providing all information from painful events. Special squad police officers’ attitudes towards interviewing crime victims, in Study 3, also showed a humanitarian approach and two dominant approaches, one affective and the other refusing. The attitude towards interviewing suspects of crimes in focus revealed humanitarian and dominant interviewing attitudes, and an approach marked by kindness. The present thesis shows that, during their entire career, an overwhelming majority of the special squad police officers have experienced stressful events during patrol as well as investigative duty. Results show that symptoms from stressful event exposures and coping mechanisms are associated with negative attitudes towards interviewing suspects and supportive attitudes towards crime victim interviews. Thus, experiences from stressful exposures may automatically activate ego-defensive functions that automatically generate dominant attitudes. Moreover, it is important to offer police officers who have been exposed to stressful events the opportunity to work through their experiences, for example, through debriefing procedures. After debriefings, police officers are better prepared to meet crime victims and suspects and, through conscious closed-loop processes, to conduct police interviews without awaking ego-defensive functions.

The police interview is one of the most important investigative tools that law enforcement has close at hand, and police interview methods have changed during the twentieth century. A good police interview is conducted in the frame of the law, is governed by the interview goal, and is influenced by facilitating factors that may affect the elicited report. The present doctoral dissertation focuses on police interviews in cases of very serious crimes of violence and sexual offences. Results reveal crime victims’ and perpetrators’ experiences of being interviewed and police officers’ attitudes towards conducting interviews related to traumatizing crimes. Study 1 revealed that when police officers interviewed murderers and sexual offenders, the interviewees perceived attitudes characterized by either dominance or humanity. Police interviews marked by dominance and suspects’ responses of anxiety were mainly associated with a higher proportion of denials, whereas an approach marked by humanity, and responses of being respected were significantly associated with admissions. In line with Study 1, the victims of rape and aggravated assault in Study 2 also revealed the experience of two police interview styles, where an interviewing style marked by dominance and responses of anxiety was significantly associated with crime victims’ omissions of information. Moreover, a humanitarian interviewing style, and crime victims’ feelings of being respected and co-operative, was significantly related to crime victims providing all information from painful events. Special squad police officers’ attitudes towards interviewing crime victims, in Study 3, also showed a humanitarian approach and two dominant approaches, one affective and the other refusing. The attitude towards interviewing suspects of crimes in focus revealed humanitarian and dominant interviewing attitudes, and an approach marked by kindness. The present thesis shows that, during their entire career, an overwhelming majority of the special squad police officers have experienced stressful events during patrol as well as investigative duty. Results show that symptoms from stressful event exposures and coping mechanisms are associated with negative attitudes towards interviewing suspects and supportive attitudes towards crime victim interviews. Thus, experiences from stressful exposures may automatically activate ego-defensive functions that automatically generate dominant attitudes. Moreover, it is important to offer police officers who have been exposed to stressful events the opportunity to work through their experiences, for example, through debriefing procedures. After debriefings, police officers are better prepared to meet crime victims and suspects and, through conscious closed-loop processes, to conduct police interviews without awaking ego-defensive functions.

The object of this study was to meet with offenders and victims of crime who recently participated in victim-offender-mediation, in order to explore their experiences and feelings about it. The method of research was individual qualitative interviews with two offenders and two crime victims. The main questions aimed to find out how the participants felt about the mediation process, what experiences they had about the person they had to face during the meeting, and finally what thoughts they had about the crime and its consequences. In helping to analyze the results of the interviews, Reintegrative Shaming Theory and Theories of attribution were used. The former was used to try to explain the feelings resembling shame that emerged during the meeting, while the latter was helpful in order to understand the descriptions the participants used when they talked about the other person. The results showed that both offenders and victims found the mediation to be helpful, mostly because it made them understand the other person better. Most of them also shared the feeling that they had been able to move on and not think about the crime as much as before.