Although violent crime in the United States has declined over the past five years, certain groups appear to remain at disproportionately high risk for violent victimization. In the United States, people with developmental disabilities-such as mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and severe learning disabilities may be included in this group. While the scientific evidence is scanty, a handful of studies from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain consistently find high rates of violence and abuse affecting people with these kinds of disabilities. A number of social and demographic trends are converging that may worsen the situation considerably over the next several years. The prevalence of developmental disabilities has increased in low-income populations, due to a number of factors, such as poor prenatal nutrition, lack of access to health care or better perinatal care for some fragile babies, and increases in child abuse and substance abuse during pregnancy. For example, a recent report of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities found that during the past decade, while the state population increased by 20 percent, the number of persons with developmental disabilities in California increased by 52 percent and the population segment with mild mental retardation doubled. Because of a growing concern among parents and advocates regarding possible high rates of crime victimization among persons with developmental disabilities, Congress, through the Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act of 1998, requested that the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences conduct a study to increase knowledge and information about crimes against individuals with developmental disabilities that will be useful in developing new strategies to reduce the incidence of crimes against those individuals. Crime Victims with Developmental Disabilities summarizes the workshop and addresses the following issues: (1) the nature and extent of crimes against individuals with developmental disabilities; (2) the risk factors associated with victimization of individuals with developmental disabilities; (3) the manner in which the justice system responds to crimes against individuals with disabilities; and (4) the means by which states may establish and maintain a centralized computer database on the incidence of crimes against individuals with disabilities within a state.

"Recent years have seen a heightened awareness of the plight of victims of crime and of their neglect by the traditional criminal justice system with its bureaucratic and institutional processes. This concern for the victim has been shared by diverse groups, including humanists, conservative "law and order" politicians, feminists, and grassroots community advocates. This combination of forces has stimulated a mass of legislative reform at both the federal and state levels. Many jurisdictions have adopted a "Bill of Rights" for the victim; public funds have been established to compensate victims; courts have been enjoined to order offenders to make restitution; welfare agencies have developed programs to provide victims with assistance; and courts are inviting victims to testify at the sentencing hearings of their offenders." "These reforms and proposals have been accompanied by a growing body of literature that discusses the needs of victims and analyzes the merits and drawbacks of particular reforms, some of which have been evaluated empirically. What has been lacking until now is an integrated overview that looks at their philosophical underpinnings and considers how these different and sometimes conflicting proposals are conceptually related to one another and to other prevailing criminal justice doctrines and ideologies. Leslie Sebba fills this gap in Third Parties."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The protocol outlines what you can expect throughout the criminal justice process, from the time you report a crime through the police investigation, court proceedings and, if the accused is found guilty, provincial and federal corrections and the National Parole Board. The protocol also tells what is expected of you and what else you can do when you are in contact with the criminal justice system.

When the victims of injustice lose faith in their justice system, the crime they've endured cuts only deeper, adding insult to injury. The time has come to face the truth that most victims of crime will not have their needs met and often won't experience our systems of justice as just. This short book makes its readers experts in advocating rights for victims of crime. It empowers taxpayers, voters and (potential) victims of crime to make the case to rebalance justice and support victims. Written for the millions of victims of crime and their friends and families, it helps to transform an antiquated system of criminal and civil justice into a modern system that is just and fair, shifting from neglect to respect and support. While some laws in the USA and elsewhere do support victims by providing assistance, compensation, and protection from the accused, this book also sheds a harsh light upon their inadequate implementation. Police services must catch crooks but make victims their client. Courts must balance rights for defendants and victims. Services for women, children and elderly victims must be adequately funded. Restitution from offenders must be ordered and collected, not overlooked. Fair compensation from the state must change from a secret to a given. The prevention of victimization must be the budget priority not mass incarceration. Despite the speeches and the United Nations norms, governments still leave most victims of crime without basic information, support, and assistance, let alone respect and remedies in courts. If you are not yet one of those victims of crime, social responsibility requires you to ensure that your country's systems of justice are fair to those who are and for them, this book provides an answer.

In recent years far more attention has been paid to victims of crime both in terms of awareness of the effect of crime upon their lives, and in changes that have been made to the criminal justice system to improve their rights and treatment. This process seems set to continue, with legislative plans announced to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim. This latest book in the Cambridge Criminal Justice Series brings together leading authorities in the field to review the role of the victim in the criminal justice system in the context of these developments.