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Final Paper - Criminology
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- Indiana Tech - Fort Wayne
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Victim Precipitation TheoryVictim Precipitation Theory
Olivia Mechling
Ivy Tech Community College
, Victim Precipitation Theory
Victim blaming can have psychological effects on the victim that is being blamed. Victim
precipitation theory is a suggestion that a victim portrays specific characteristics or dresses a
certain way that can lead to the victim being blamed for a crime committed against them. The
victim encourages or provokes the victim which sets off the offender and therefore is seen as
victim precipitation. Victim Precipitation Theory blames the victims because of the way they
dress, the way they act, and the things that they do.
The founder/developer of the Victim Precipitation Theory was Marvin Wolfgang. He first
introduced the concept of Victim Precipitation in a homicide study in 1958. “Victim precipitation
existed not only in the research of Wolfgang but also in spirit in the early typologies of
Mendelsohn (1956) such as the completely innocent victim (no precipitation) and the victim
more guilty than the offender where one provokes another to commit a crime.” (Petherick)
Crime happens from Victim Precipitation because of situations where a victim's
negligence or carelessness makes them more vulnerable to criminal conduct. Victims sometimes
put themselves in situations where they can be blamed for being a victim in a crime. Some men
or women can fit in as a reason a crime happened simply because of their actions towards the
offender. They could know them well and trust them enough to follow them somewhere odd and
suddenly something could happen and that would be a way a victim could be blamed for what
had happened to them. There are three facets of victim precipitation. The first facet is victim
contribution. “Victim Contribution refers to a person's actions or lack of action that makes their
victimizations more likely.” (Boswell) The second facet is victim proneness. “This implies that
some individuals or groups have a quality that makes them more likely to become victims of
crimes. This can also refer to the fact that some victims are easy targets.” (Boswell) For example
a prostitute is out and a guy pulls up to her in a weird looking van and she knows something is
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