ABSTRACT
The concept of vulnerability is of significant importance to individuals caught up in crime, whether as a victim of crime, witness to a crime, a defendant charged with a crime or a prisoner serving a sentence for committing crime. Forensic psychologists are also involved in assessing and treating witnesses who have been affected by the nature of what they have seen happen to a victim of a criminal event. Psychological vulnerability can have a devastating effect on individuals accused of committing a crime they did not commit, because they are susceptible to believing their accusers. It is also perceived as something displayed by a person who has a mental illness. Prisoners with mental illnesses are more prone to violating prison rules, leading to their confinement and segregation, both providing opportunities for self-harming and suicidal behaviour. The chapter also presents Rutter and Giller outlining five contributory high-risk adverse factors for delinquency and factors which protect children from leading a criminal lifestyle.
