Mediating influence of crime type on victim satisfaction with police services
| Published date | 01 January 2018 |
| Author | TK Vinod Kumar |
| Date | 01 January 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758017727344 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Mediating influence of crime
type on victim satisfaction
with police services:
A comparative analysis across
victims of property crimes
and violent crimes in India
TK Vinod Kumar
Indiana University South Bend, USA
Abstract
Different crimes have their own unique characteristics. Victim needs and experiences vary across
crime types. However, there has been a tendency for the criminal justice system to treat victims as
a homogeneous entity and respond to victims of different types of crimes in a routine manner. This
is especially true in a developing country like India. This study, using victim survey data from India,
examines whether the crime type (property crime or violent crime) has a mediating influence on
the relation between the quality of procedure and outcome of police response on the one hand,
and victim satisfaction on the other. The study concludes that the type of crime has a mediating
effect on the relation between interpersonal justice, information justice and outcome, and the
satisfaction of victims with services provided by the police.
Keywords
Procedural justice, outcome of process, crime victims, satisfaction with police services, crime type,
mediating effect, India
Victim experience varies across different types of crimes (Kilpatrick and Acierno, 2003). Different
crimes have their own characteristics which have their unique impact on victims. Some crimes,
such as physical assault or sexual crimes, have a high degree of physical, psychological, and social
Corresponding author:
TK Vinod Kumar, Department of Criminal Justice, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Wiekamp Hall 2231, Indiana
University South Bend, 1700 Mishawaka Avenue, PO Box 7111, South Bend, IN 46634-7111, USA.
Email: vkthiche@iu.edu
International Review of Victimology
2018, Vol. 24(1) 99–121
ªThe Author(s) 2017
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/0269758017727344
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consequences (Laxminarayan , 2012). In contras t, property offen ses such as theft or ho use bur-
glary may have few or no physical consequences, but may produce financial losses and high
psychological and social consequences (Maguire, 1980; Norris and Kaniasty, 1994; Shapland
and Hall, 2007).
The formal response to crime by the criminal justice system has traditionally been registration
of crime, investigation, prosecution and trial. There have been changes since the 1980s (Young and
Stein, 2004), with a greater understanding of victim needs and specifically addressing those
through victim psychological counseling, reparation, restitution, and enhanced protection. How-
ever, special attention is usually supplementary and minimal, compared with the routine response,
with little concern for the type of crime. It has been argued that the type of crime has a moderating
influence on the relation between different aspects of crime processing and satisfaction of the
victim (Laxminarayan, 2012). The present study conducted in India examines whether the offense
type (property crimes or violent crime) has a mediating
1
effect on the relation between the quality
of procedure and the outcome of the police response, and victim satisfaction. There are few
empirical studies on victim experience and satisfaction conducted in India, and this study makes
a pioneering contribution to address this dearth of research.
Literature review
Impact of crime
Victims of crime suffer harm through physical injuries, psychological impact, and problems of
social adjustment. Physical harm can range from simple injuries such as abrasions and contusions
to life-threatening wounds, and death itself. Broadly, physical harm has three categories of costs:
medical expenses, financial loss due to loss of wages and employment opportunities, which
transgress into social conse quences, and non-monetary losse s of pain, suffering, and reduce d
quality of life (Miller et al., 1993). Crime victimization also causes psychological problems such
as post-traumatic stress disorder (Orth et al., 2008), depression (Bargai et al., 2007; Falsetti and
Resick, 1995), and insomnia (Krakow et al., 2001). Victims also have social adjustment problems
with feelings of revenge (Orth et al., 2006) and anger towards self (Orth and Maercker, 2009).
Different crimes have a varying mix of consequences and therefore differing costs. This results
in differing victim needs in coping with problems of victimization. Victims try to deal with the
varied consequences by reporting the crime to the police, demanding justice, demanding punish-
ment for the offender, or at worst embarking on seeking retribution on their own (Orth et al., 2006).
The police response may address the varied needs resulting in differing experiences and satisfac-
tion with police services. The prese nt research examines whether crime type mediates in the
relation between the quality of procedure and the outcome of the police response, and the satisfac-
tion of crime victims with police services in India.
Victim processing
Some victims of crime choose to report the offense to the police, and initiate the criminal justice
process, while others choose not to report due to factors such as lack of seriousness of the crime,
the personal nature of the offense, distrust in the police, or lack of confidence that the police could
do much (Bowles et al., 2009; Tarling and Morris, 2010). Addressing the crime and victim
processing by the police involves a series of decisions which have an impact on victim satisfaction
100 International Review of Victimology 24(1)
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