U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

OFF ICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

BJA NI J OJJDP BJS OVC

R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

National Institute of Justice

Jeremy Travis, Director

continued...

Immigrant Populations as Victims:

Toward a Multicultural Criminal

Justice System

by Robert C. Davis and Edna Erez

May 1998

Issues and Findings

Discussed in this Brief: Findings

from an NIJ-sponsored survey and

selected site visits undertaken to

provide a broad picture of the

problems and barriers recent immigrant groups encounter as consumers of criminal justice services,

their difficulties in accessing justice,

and the ways to improve the criminal justice response to their needs

and problems.

Key issues: Researchers and experts previously have suggested that

immigrant populations are victimized

at rates similar to the general population, but their rates of reporting

crime are lower, and because of differences in language, expectations,

and treatment by officials, immigrant

victims have a more difficult time

than other victims dealing with the

police and the courts.

Key findings:

• Most (67 percent) of the officials

responding to a national survey

agreed that recent immigrants report crimes less frequently than

other victims. Only 12 percent

thought that recent immigrants

were as likely or more likely to report crimes.

• Survey respondents said that domestic violence was the crime least

reported. Sexual assault and gang

violence were also thought more

likely to go unreported. In a

sample taken from immigrant

The increasing influx of immigrants to the

United States poses special challenges for

the criminal justice system. Until recently, however, social science research

has paid little attention to immigrants in

the criminal justice system. A recent national assessment program survey conducted for the National Institute of

Justice (NIJ)1

 revealed that the issue of

cultural diversity has become a concern

of criminal justice professionals.

This Research in Brief summarizes a

study that investigated whether the diverse cultural makeup of many communities requires the criminal justice system

to modify its approach, particularly in

handling recent immigrants. The study

addressed a previously unexamined question—whether immigrant victims have a

more difficult time than other victims in

dealing with the police and the courts because of differences in language, expectations, and treatment by officials.

The consensus among officials who responded to the national survey and among

leaders of six ethnic communities whom

researchers interviewed for this study is

that many recent immigrants do indeed

fail to report crimes. Many of the study

participants saw this failure to report crimes

as a serious problem, allowing criminals to

go free and eroding the ability of the

criminal justice system to function effectively. This Research in Brief discusses

these and other major findings of the study.

Research strategy

In the study’s first phase, a survey was

mailed to police chiefs, prosecutors, and

court administrators from the 50 largest

U.S. cities. Of the 150 officials who received the surveys, 92, or 61 percent, responded. Responses were received from

37 police chiefs (74 percent) and 32 prosecutors (64 percent), but only 23 court

administrators (46 percent) returned

completed forms.

For the study’s second phase, researchers

chose two cities—New York and Philadelphia—for intensive investigation because

they have large numbers of recent immigrants from several countries and

innovative programs to address cultural

diversity. Using Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) data, researchers determined where immigrants of various

ethnic groups settled in each city between

1980 and 1990.
2

R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

Issues and Findings

continued...

communities in Philadelphia and

New York, most incidents described by those interviewed involved perpetrators from the same

ethnic group as the victim. In the

New York sample, most crimes involved domestic violence.

• Approximately one-third (31

percent) of officials responding to

the survey believed that underreporting of crimes by recent immigrants prevented adequate use

of law enforcement resources in

immigrant communities. Officials

believed that immigrants faced

greater hardships when reporting

crimes to police or appearing in

court, including language barriers,

cultural differences, and ignorance

of the U.S. justice system. Immigrants who reported crimes and

who appeared in court, however,

mostly reported positive experiences: More than 9 out of 10 understood the court proceedings,

and many expressed greater faith

in the U.S. system than in the systems of their native countries.

• Further research needs to be

done on underreporting of crimes

by specific immigrant groups and

on its correlation with their degree

of isolation from the law enforcement and criminal justice systems.

Research is also needed to compare immigrant and native-born

victims’ expectations of, rates of

participation in, and satisfaction

with the court system. This research could help determine what

accommodations need to be

made to help immigrant victims.

Target audience: State and local

policymakers, law enforcement supervisors and officers, prosecutors,

court administrators, and community leaders.

In each city, one neighborhood with a

strong multiethnic character was targeted for participation. Researchers

chose New York’s Jackson Heights

area and Philadelphia’s Logan section

because both neighborhoods had large

recent influxes of at least three ethnic

groups. In each city, researchers interviewed samples of victims, some of

whom had reported crimes to the police and others who had not.

In Jackson Heights, researchers studied

Colombians, Dominicans, and Indians.

The sample, collected from service logs

of the neighborhood victim services office, consisted of all victims who had

sought assistance for crime-related

problems within the past 12 months

and who were listed as having a country

of origin other than the United States.

Telephone interviews were conducted

by multilingual victim services staff. Of

the 87 Jackson Heights victims interviewed, 40 percent were from South

America, 22 percent from the Caribbean basin, 22 percent from Europe,

and 13 percent from Asia. Most immigrants interviewed said they were legal

U.S. residents.

In Philadelphia’s Logan section, the

study targeted Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Koreans. The Philadelphia

sample subjects were nominated by

several local informants, including police officers, district attorney staff, and

social service personnel. Of the 26

victims interviewed, 12 were interviewed in their homes and 14 were interviewed by telephone. All interviews

in Philadelphia were conducted by local Asian ethnic contractors.

Overview of national survey

Sixty-seven percent of the officials

surveyed believed that recent immigrants report crimes less frequently

than other victims. Only 12 percent indicated that recent immigrants are as

likely or more likely to report crimes.

Most officials said they formed their

beliefs from statements made by community leaders, but personal experience, the media, and police data were

also cited as sources of officials’

beliefs.

Reasons behind underreporting.

In trying to pinpoint the sources of

underreporting, the survey asked officials whether they thought underreporting was a problem only among

undocumented immigrants. More than

half (56 percent) of the respondents

stated that the problem of underreporting is not limited to undocumented immigrants. The survey also

asked whether underreporting is more

common among particular ethnic

groups. Officials’ responses indicated

that Asians (53 percent) and Latinos

(42 percent) were the groups most

likely to underreport, although these

groups may have been named most frequently because the respondents are

most familiar with them.

Researchers also tried to determine if

the type of crime contributes to underreporting. Nearly one-quarter of the respondents said that domestic violence is

the least reported crime. Sexual assault

and gang violence were cited nearly as

often, together accounting for more than

two in three responses.

Effects of underreporting on the

criminal justice system. One-third

of respondents believed that underreporting of crimes by recent immigrants poses a serious problem to the

criminal justice system. Another 28

percent believed it poses at least a

minor problem. Inadequate crime

control is one of the drawbacks of

underreporting, said 52 percent of the
3

R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

survey respondents. Underreporting

leads to undercounting of crimes in

areas populated by recent immigrants,

and as a result, according to 31 percent

of the respondents, too few funds are allocated for law enforcement resources

in those immigrant communities.

Pressure factors. Many officials believed that, compared to other crime

or the second phase of this study, researchers were interested in studying cities

with innovative programs focusing on the

needs of recent immigrants, especially those

who become victims of crime. Both of the

selected cities have well-established programs that provide services to immigrants.

Philadelphia

Although not known as a city with large

immigrant populations, Philadelphia is a national leader in criminal justice programs

that serve immigrants. Both the district

attorney’s office and the Philadelphia Police

Department have outreach programs to

Southeast Asian immigrants.

In the district attorney’s office, Vietnamese

and Cambodian caseworkers screen arrest

reports citywide for victims with Southeast

Asian surnames and attempt to contact

these individuals by telephone or letter.

Brochures describing the court process are

provided in Cambodian, Vietnamese, and

Korean.

The caseworkers communicate with victims

in their native languages, answering questions about the court process, notifying

them of court dates and milestones, and

encouraging them to go to court. They also

arrange for interpreters or go to court with

victims. In serious cases, caseworkers help

victims complete a victim impact statement;

in cases proceeding to trial, caseworkers aid

victims in preparing for testimony.

Caseworkers also work to educate the

community about the court system. They

conduct workshops that include mock

hearings in the immigrants’ languages.

They also talk to children of Southeast

Asian immigrants in schools.

The Logan community has a police

ministation, which is home base for a Vietnamese police liaison staff person. The

staff person attends meetings of Vietnamese organizations, discusses how to report

crimes to the police, and explains how the

U.S. criminal justice system works. Vietnamese who live anywhere in Philadelphia

are encouraged to call the liaison to report

crimes or receive feedback on the status of

investigations. A similar liaison for Cambodians is based in a ministation near the

University of Pennsylvania where several

Cambodian-owned stores are located.

Jackson Heights

The Jackson Heights neighborhood of New

York City offers services to immigrants

through the following programs provided

by the victim services office.

• Crime victim services. This program offers practical assistance to immigrant victims such as lock replacement, shelter

referral, and multilingual counseling, including both individual treatment and

support groups. Staff help immigrants determine eligibility for various social services.

They promote their services through

Innovative Programs Serving Immigrant Victims F presentations at schools, day-care centers,

and other locations.

• Legal services. This program provides legal counseling, free or for a sliding-scalebased fee, on immigration-related issues

such as applications for visas or for citizenship, petitions for relatives to join the family

in the United States, or deportation or exclusion hearings.

• Immigration hotline. Part of a statewide

service, this program offers information on

immigration law and procedures from

counselors fluent in 14 languages. It also

provides information about access to city

and State services, employment and housing discrimination, English-language classes,

and such language resources as translation

and interpreter services.

• Educational program. This program offers classes in English as a second language,

general equivalency diploma, and preparation for citizenship.

In addition, the police in this precinct have a

Spanish-speaking receptionist on duty at all

times, hold frequent open houses for community members, patrol neighborhoods on

foot, support an active police-community

council, and have community relations officers who act as liaisons with ethnic

groups. The district attorney’s office works

with community organizations such as the

Jackson Heights Action Group to address

crime-related issues.

victims, recent immigrants face different pressures in deciding to cooperate

with law enforcement authorities.

Some suggest that this pressure is

caused by the fear of becoming involved with the authorities. Possible

embarrassment to their families also

prevents immigrants from reporting

crime. In some cultures, said one official from the Baltimore Police Department, “it brings great shame on the

family to report a crime such as rape

or robbery to the police.”

Hardships of immigrants dealing

with the criminal justice system.

About two-thirds of the respondents

believed that recent immigrants face

greater hardships when reporting

crimes to police. Language poses the
4

R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

greatest hardship, said 47 percent. Respondents also named other hardships

such as cultural differences in conceptions of justice (22 percent) and lack

of knowledge of the criminal justice

system (15 percent).

Recent immigrants face greater hardships in coming to court as well, said

two-thirds of the responding officials.

Again, language was named most often

(39 percent of respondents) as a hardship in involvement with court. Respondents indicated that the language

barrier poses no problem in communicating with officials because interpreters often are available. Rather, they

stated that immigrants have trouble

understanding court proceedings conducted in English even when they are

translated.

Cultural differences and ignorance of

the U.S. justice system also discourage

victims from coming to court, according to respondents. Less frequent reasons cited were distrust of the system,

fear of retaliation, lost wages, unresponsiveness of officials to immigrants’

concerns, and lack of transportation.

Accommodating immigrant victims.

The survey found that many officials

are aware of the problems recent immigrants face in dealing with the

criminal justice system. As a result,

nearly half of the respondents reported

that their organizations have programs,

policies, or practices in place to assist

immigrant victims. (See “Innovative

Programs Serving Immigrant Victims.”) The most common type of service (among 54 percent of responses)

is multilingual assistance or translators. For example, in some New York

Police Department precincts, receptionists speak the language of immigrants in the community and aid

victims in reporting offenses. About a

quarter of the efforts to accommodate

immigrant victims involve outreach to

various immigrant communities.

One-third of respondents also reported

that non-English informational brochures are available. One in four respondents reported holding regular

meetings with leaders of ethnic groups,

and about two-thirds work with citizen

liaison committees, including members of ethnic communities. Both

meetings with community leaders and

liaison committees are most common

in police agencies and least common

among court administrators’ offices.

Two-thirds of the organizations reported that staff participate in cultural

sensitivity training.

Site work and victim survey

As can be seen in exhibit 1, the two victim survey samples differed in ways

other than ethnicity. In speaking to leaders in the ethnic communities studied,

researchers were led to believe that

underreporting was an especially serious

problem among Dominicans in Jackson

Heights and among Cambodians in

Logan. These two communities also

appeared to be the most insular, disenfranchised, and lacking in internal

cohesion. The contextual effects of

neighborhood culture have been found to

be important determinants of attitudes

toward the police,2

 and the same may be

true for crime reporting. Researchers of

this study hypothesize that crime reporting among immigrant communities is directly related to the extent to which a

community is organized and tied into the

fabric of the larger community.

In many ways, the Jackson Heights and

Logan samples were similar. For example, the majority of incidents in both

samples involved perpetrators from the

same ethnic group as the victims. This

finding is consistent with other studies

that suggest immigrants often prey on

each other rather than on outsiders.

Who reports crime and who does

not. Researchers conducted an analysis of who reports and who does not report crimes to the police to determine

what factors affect reporting of crime.

The analysis included educational

level, country of origin, type of crime

(domestic violence versus other

crimes), immigration status (legal versus illegal resident), and information

concerning whether the crime was

committed by someone of the same

ethnic group.

A multivariate analysis found that only

the type of crime by which one was

Exhibit 1: Characteristics of the Victim Samples

Jackson Logan

Heights

Victims who are Latin American natives 62% (n=87) 0% (n=25)

Victims who are Asian natives 13% (n=87) 100% (n=25)

Victims who are legal residents of the

 United States 87% (n=87) 100% (n=25)

Cases involving domestic violence 54% (n=86) 8% (n=26)

Victims with close ties to perpetrator 59% (n=85) 15% (n=26)

Incidents that were part of a pattern 61% (n=87) 8% (n=25)

Incidents involving perpetrator from same

 ethnic group 75% (n=80) 59% (n=22)
5

R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

victimized was a significant predictor

of who reports crime: Respondents

who were victims of domestic violence

were less likely to report their victimization to the police than victims of

other crimes. Efforts are needed to

educate and encourage victims of domestic violence to come forward and

report such a crime.

Prevalence of domestic violence.

Domestic violence was the largest category of victimization reported by immigrant victims, particularly in the

Jackson Heights sample, where it accounted for 54 percent of all incidents.

If the prevalence of domestic violence

in the study’s sample parallels that in

the community, domestic violence is

the most common crime experienced

by recent immigrants in Jackson

Heights.

The prevalence of domestic violence

in Jackson Heights may result from the

fact that its respondents came largely

from Latin American countries in

which men who physically chastise

their wives and children are not challenged to the degree that they are in

the United States. Wives begin to report abuse by their husbands when

they learn that violence within families

in the United States is considered a

criminal violation rather than a legitimate form of discipline.3

In addition, the prevalence of domestic

violence in the Jackson Heights sample

may reflect priorities of the victim services office and outreach efforts such as

advertising, sending letters to persons

who report crimes, and speaking to

community groups.

Another possibility is that victims of domestic violence seek or accept services

more often than victims of other crimes

(although it cannot be assumed that all

domestic incidents are best resolved by

law enforcement approaches).4

 The

study’s findings of underreporting of domestic violence among immigrants

parallels underreporting of this crime

among the population at large.5

In contrast to the Jackson Heights

sample, just 8 percent of the Logan

sample involved domestic violence.

(An explanation of the difference is

that most of the Logan sample was

nominated by criminal justice officials [police, prosecutor], whereas the

Jackson Heights sample was derived

from victim services records.) Most

victimizations in the Logan sample

were robberies and burglaries (each

comprising about one-third of the

sample). Therefore, few victims from

the Logan sample had close ties to

their perpetrator (4 in 5 were strangers), whereas 6 in 10 Jackson Heights

victims reported close ties to the perpetrator and a pattern of incidents.

The victimizations in the Logan

sample are to some extent a function

of the areas in which recent immigrants reside—that is, poor and dangerous parts of the city. The tendency

of recent immigrants to avoid depositing their earnings in banks also

makes them especially vulnerable to

robbery and burglary.

Positive experiences. Exhibit 2 displays the experiences of victims with

the criminal justice system. In each

sample, about two in three respondents

had reported an incident to the police,

and their experiences with law enforcement were generally positive. Combining the two samples, fewer than 1 in 5

respondents reported having difficulties

Exhibit 2: A Comparison of Victim Experiences With the Police and Courts

Jackson Logan

Heights

Victims who reported incident to police 69% (n=87) 65% (n=26)

Victims who had problems communicating

 with police 7% (n=54) 14% (n=14)

Victims who felt police were responsive

 to their concerns 84% (n=56) 94% (n=17)

Victims who did not understand what was

 happening in court 15% (n=13) 0% (n=9)

Victims who felt people in court were

 responsive to their concerns 71% (n=14) 89% (n=9)

Victims who were satisfied with case outcome 61% (n=13) 89% (n=9)

Victims who would report same crime in

 country of origin 59% (n=85) 17% (n=24)

Victims who would report same crime again

 in the United States 91% (n=86) 96% (n=25)

communicating with police officers, and

9 in 10 said police were very or somewhat responsive to their concerns.

Only a small percentage of victims in

either sample reported having attended court. About a third of these

found some hardship associated with

going to court. Instances such as long

waits in court for a victim’s case to be

called or repeated adjournments were

particularly burdensome for victims

who had small children or owned small
6

R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

businesses. Victims also were upset

that the system was too soft on criminals. Some did not understand the

concept of pretrial release for an offender. Others felt the penalty imposed

on an offender was too lenient. Said a

father of an assault victim: “They just

let him go. I wasted my time coming to

court, and he didn’t go to jail.”

Still, those interviewed who attended

court reported generally positive

experiences. Fewer than 1 in 10 respondents in the combined sample said they

did not understand what was happening

in court, and 8 in 10 reported they were

treated very or somewhat well by officials. Persons for whom the court

experience exceeded expectations

outnumbered those who were disappointed by 2 to 1. Logan respondents

were overwhelmingly satisfied with the

outcome of their cases. A smaller proportion (but still a majority) of Jackson

Heights respondents were satisfied with

case outcome.

Respondents in both samples had

greater faith in the U.S. justice system

than in the justice system of their native countries. Exhibit 2 shows that

more than 9 in 10 victims from both

samples said they would call the police if a similar incident happened

again. However, a much smaller proportion said they would have reported

the incident if it happened in their

country of origin.

The perceptions of these immigrant victims compare favorably to perceptions

measured among general victim

samples.6

 In fact, this immigrant victim

sample was even more positive about

the police and the courts than anticipated, considering other work with nonimmigrant victim samples. Future

research may find that immigrants

share many of the same experiences in

Promising Findings A

the criminal justice system as nativeborn victims, although expectations,

which often color victim experiences,7

may be different for recent immigrants.

(See “Promising Findings.”)

That is not to say, however, that respondents encountered no problems in

the justice process. Some victims believe that the U.S. penal system is too

lenient and that criminals in the

United States are provided with too

many rights. A few victims believe

they were treated brusquely by police.

Surprising results

Considering the views held before the

study, researchers were surprised that

victims surveyed reported few problems

in their encounters with the justice system, including few language impediments in dealing with either the police

or the courts. It should be noted, however, that language obstacles to participation in the criminal justice system

may be unusually low in the two sites

chosen for research because of unusual

lthough many criminal justice

agencies had few or no programs and

practices to help immigrant victims, in

the course of conducting the national

survey of criminal justice officials, researchers encountered many innovative

ideas to accommodate immigrant victims, including the following:

• Incorporating leaders of immigrant

communities into citizen advisory boards

for police and prosecution agencies.

• Enhancing ethnic diversity among

staff of criminal justice agencies.

• Ensuring the availability of written

material in languages other than English.

• Sponsoring inservice training in the

cultures of various ethnic groups.

• Encouraging police officers to attend

and speak at meetings of ethnic organizations in their communities.

• Conducting special outreach from district attorney’s offices to victims belonging to particular ethnic groups.

The absence of comprehensive criminal

justice programs addressing the needs of

immigrant victims suggests a role for

Federal, State, and local governments to

promote information-sharing about innovative practices through conferences

or technical assistance.

concern in these cities for immigrants.

According to the national survey, most

jurisdictions do not provide services

such as those used in the target cities;

AT&T language lines, available

through the 911 system, which forward

callers to interpreters of their language;

availability of multilingual staff; and

outreach to ethnic victims.

The study’s sample may not have

been representative of immigrant

populations in the two neighborhoods

studied. Although multilingual interviewers were used, it is possible that

those who spoke English better and

were more committed to pursuing

criminal justice were oversampled.

The high degree of satisfaction with

the police and the courts expressed by

respondents was also somewhat surprising. In fact, researchers found that

satisfaction with the criminal justice

system was as great or greater among

this group of immigrants than among

victims at large.8

 It seems that recent

immigrants highly appreciate efforts to
7

R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

deal with their problems. The choice

of research sites and the sample of immigrant victims may also be a factor

explaining the high satisfaction level.

Still, some victims experienced problems in their pursuit of justice. Some of

those problems were the same problems

any victim might encounter—e.g., a police officer who was too busy to see that

a victim received medical treatment or

a case outcome that a victim considered

too lenient. Other victims complained

of being unfamiliar with the language or

customs they encountered in court. A

sizeable minority of the Jackson

Heights sample were dissatisfied with

the outcomes of their cases. This may

be a result characteristic of their typical

cases, for example, domestic violence.

However, if the study’s findings hold up

in future research, it may suggest that

the attitudes and expectations of immigrant victims entering the U.S. criminal

justice system are not very different from

those of native-born victims but that they

are more appreciative of efforts to attend

to their plight as victims of crime. Although language is a special problem for

many recent immigrants, making the

criminal justice system more responsive

to victims in other respects will go far toward making it more responsive for immigrant victims as well.

A need for additional research

This study suggests that recent immigrants are less likely than other victims

to report crimes. This tentative finding

needs to be confirmed by rigorous victimization surveys conducted within

immigrant communities. More needs to

be known about which specific groups

of immigrants underreport. That information can be used to develop theories

about the connections between the reporting behavior of particular communities of

immigrants and the degree to which those

communities are insular, unorganized,

and alienated from municipal power

structures.

Such surveys could also provide information about the meaning of underreporting. When the first large-scale

victimization surveys were conducted

in the U.S. population 30 years ago,

researchers wrote about alarming rates

of unreported crimes.9

 However, subsequent research showed that much

unreported crime was minor and that

victims failed to report crimes because

their loss was minimal and they felt

they had little to gain by informing authorities.10 Similarly, research is

needed to determine what types of

crimes against immigrants go unreported and how serious their effects

are on the victims and the community.

Research is also needed to compare

representative samples of native-born

and immigrant victims in terms of their

expectations of the criminal justice

system, rates of participation in the

court process, and satisfaction with the

process and outcome. Such research

could help to define whether immigrants can be treated as other victims

or if they need special treatment.

Immigrant communities present many

obstacles to accurately gauging crime

and reporting rates—including language difficulties, mistrust of authorities, residences without telephones,

and multiple families living within one

house or apartment. Similar problems

await researchers studying victims’ experiences in the criminal justice process. However, as U.S. society

becomes more diverse, equality before

the law can be ensured only if all persons have access to a uniform system

of justice.

Notes

1. McEwen, Thomas, “National Assessment Program:

1994 Survey Results,” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 1995.

2. Decker, S.H., “Citizen Attitudes Toward the Police: A Review of Past Findings and Suggestions for

Future Policy,” Journal of Police Science and Administration 9(1981):80–87.

3. Chan, Janet B.L., “Policing in a Multicultural Society: A Study of the New South Wales Police,” Final

Report to the New South Wales Police Service,

School of Social Science and Policy, University of

New South Wales, August 1992.

4. Davis, Robert C., and Barbara E. Smith, “Domestic Violence Reforms: Empty Promises or Fulfilled

Expectations?” Crime and Delinquency 41

(1995):541–552.

5. Skogan, Wesley G., “Reporting Crimes to the Police: The Status of World Research,” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 21(1984):113–137;

and Skogan, Wesley G., “Contacts Between Police

and the Public: Findings from the 1992 British Survey” (Home Office Research Study, 134), London,

England: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1992.

6. Davis, Robert C., F. Kunreuther, and E. Connick,

“Expanding the Victim’s Role in the Criminal Court

Dispositional Process: The Results of an Experiment,” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 2

(1984):405–491; and Erez, Edna, and Pamela

Tontodonato, “Victim Participation in Justice and

Satisfaction With Justice,” Justice Quarterly 9(3)

(1992):393–427.

7. Erez, Edna, Leigh Roeger, and Frank Morgan,

“Victim Harm, Impact Statements, and Victim Satisfaction With Justice: An Australian Experience,” International Review of Victimology 5(1997):37–60.

8. Davis, Kunreuther, and Connick, “Expanding the

Victim’s Role in the Criminal Court Dispositional

Process: The Results of an Experiment,” 405–491;

Davis, Robert C., and Barbara E. Smith, “Victim Impact Statements and Victim Satisfaction: An Unfulfilled Promise?” Journal of Criminal Justice 22(1)

(1994):1–12; and Erez, Roeger, and Morgan, “Victim

Harm, Impact Statements, and Victim Satisfaction

With Justice: An Australian Experience,” 37–60.

9. Ennis, Philip H., “Criminal Victimization in the

United States: A Report on a National Survey,”

Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office,

1967; and Biderman, Albert D., “Report on a Pilot

Study in the District of Columbia on Victimization

and Attitudes Toward Law Enforcement,” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967.

10. Skogan, Wesley G., “Dimensions of the Dark Figure of Unreported Crime,” Crime and Delinquency 23

(1977):41–50.
Findings and conclusions of the research reported here are those of the authors and do not

necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Robert C. Davis is a senior research consultant with the Victim

Services Agency in New York, New York. Edna Erez is a professor and

interim chair at the Department of Criminal Justice at Kent State

University, Ohio. This project was supported by grant 93–IJ–CX–0024

awarded to Victim Services, Inc., from the National Institute of Justice.

NCJ 167571

The National Institute of Justice is a

component of the Office of Justice

Programs, which also includes the Bureau

of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice

Statistics, the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for

Victims of Crime.

Quick Access to NIJ Publication News

For news about NIJ’s most recent publications, including solicitations for grant applications,

subscribe to JUSTINFO, the bimonthly newsletter sent to you via e-mail. Here’s how:

Or check out the “Publications and Products” section at the NIJ home page:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij, or the “New This Week” section at the Justice Information Center

home page: http://www.ncjrs.org

■ Send an e-mail to listproc@ncjrs.org

■ Leave the subject line blank

■ Type subscribe justinfo your name

 (e.g., subscribe justinfo Jane Doe) in the body of the message

BULK RATE

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

DOJ/NIJ

Permit No. G–91

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300