Brottsoffer i rättsprocessen : Om ideala brottsoffer och goda myndigheter

• During the past few decades interest in, and concern for, crime victims have grown considerably in Sweden. New acts have been introduced and existing ones have been revised and amended, research into crime victim issues has developed and the situation of crime victims has increasingly been brought to the fore in the criminal justice system. The question is whether this new focus has had any significant impact on the way crime victims are treated by the criminal justice system.The thesis shows that a number of measures and reforms have been implemented with a view to improving the support, protection and assistance afforded to crime victims, e.g. with regard to criminal injuries compensation, the provision of legal counsel, the obligation of the police and public prosecutors to provide victims with information about the criminal justice process and about developments in their cases, providing crime victims with a new identity etc. However, the results of the empirical studies show that the government’s intentions have not yet been fully translated into action. Despite the extensive obligations of the police when it comes to the provision of information, approximately 25 per cent of crime victims stated that they had not received any such information. The studies also show that the police only rarely pay attention to the fact that some victims are subjected to repeat victimisation. In addition, the manner in which victims are treated by the police appears to vary depending on the type of crime involved. For example, compared to victims of burglary and mugging, a considerably larger number of assault victims described the police officers they met as brusque, surly and uninterested. Regarding the experience victims have of the public prosecutors assigned to their cases, the negative views expressed concern mainly the timing of the first contact with the prosecutor. Many victims do not meet the prosecutor until the day of the trial, either shortly before the trial itself or in the actual courtroom. Crime victims are also relatively often dissatisfied with the waiting arrangements in court buildings; a recurring complaint is that they had to share a waiting room with the accused.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

crime victims

criminal justice process

implementation

policework

victimisation

brottsoffer

rättsprocess

implementering

polisarbete

viktimisering

Psychology

Psykologi

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

dok (subject category)