ABSTRACT
For most of the twentieth century criminologists paid much more attention to those defined as criminals and offenders than they did to the victims of criminal activity. In the 1970s that neglect ended. As Erez (1991) observed, one consequence of the debates that the ‘new criminologists’ sponsored in the 1970s was to remind us that the ‘forgotten’ and ‘eliminated’ victims of crime should be a legitimate object of enquiry for criminologists. The study of victims, or ‘victimology’, has now become a recognized theme in contemporary criminology. It has also become a central theme in much criminal justice policymaking as victims’ rights groups, neo-conservative think-tanks and sections of the media promote campaigns for tougher sentencing of criminals. One result is that it has become unthinkable for any ambitious politician to come out against being ‘tough’ on law and order. In Britain in 2002 the Blair government’s White Paper Justice for All (Home Office 2002: para. 3) pledged to ‘rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the victim and the community so as to reduce crime and bring more offenders to justice’.
