Victims of Crime – Theory and Practice

During the past few decades the situation of crime victims has increasingly come into the spotlight, partly as a result of the work of the women’s movement in drawing attention to men’s violence towards women. Many European countries have taken action and implemented reforms to improve the provision of support, protection and assistance to crime victims. In practice, however, these efforts have not always had the desired impact.

There is a great need in Europe today to improve the support for crime victims, for example abused women and children, victims of racist and homophobic crimes and, not least, the hundreds of thousands of victims of transnational trafficking in human beings.

The present book, which is one of the first European textbooks on crime victim issues, can be seen as a contribution to the development work being done in this field. It describes crime victims’ needs and reactions and how the police and other stakeholders in the community can improve victim support at the local level. The book also comprises an up-to-date account of victimological research and the debate and developments in the field.

As Sweden is at the forefront of the development of crime victim support this book sometimes takes as a starting point conditions in that country. The accounts of the work being done in Sweden also illustrate how crime victim issues are dealt with in a democracy.

Victims of Crime is intended for students at police academies and police service professionals, as well as for professionals in other legal system services and the public health and social welfare sectors. It could also be used in the training of NGO professionals. Others who might find the book useful are journalists, politicians and members of the public interested in social issues.

The book was produced in co-operation with ODIHR (OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights).

Magnus Lindgren: Researcher at the Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, and Associate Professor at the Swedish National Police Academy.

Karl-Åke Pettersson: Deputy Police Commissioner, Swedish National Police Board, and EU advisor in Macedonia.

Bo Hägglund: Chief Inspector and expert on crime victim matters at the Swedish National Police Board.