Satisfaction with police services among victims of physical assault in India
| DOI | 10.1177/1461355717733138 |
| Author | TK Vinod Kumar |
| Date | 01 December 2017 |
| Published date | 01 December 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Satisfaction with police services among
victims of physical assault in India:
Impact of quality of procedure
and outcome of process
TK Vinod Kumar
Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University South Bend, USA
Abstract
Victim satisfaction is impacted by both the quality of the procedure and the outcome of the criminal justice process.
Quality of procedure encompasses procedural and interactional justice. Using survey data of victims of physical assault in
India, this study examines the impact of quality of procedure and outcome on victim satisfaction with police services. The
study concludes that although both factors have an effect on victim satisfaction, quality of procedure has a greater impact
than outcomes of the process for victims of physical assault in India.
Keywords
Victims of physical assault, satisfaction with police, procedural justice, outcome of process, India
Submitted 14 Jan 2017, Revise received 28 Aug 2017, accepted 28 Aug 2017
Crime causes extreme d istress and pain in victi ms. The
degree of harm caused to victims of violent crimes against
the body is much higher due to physical injury, psycholo-
gical consequences, and problems of social adjustment.
Physical harm ranges from simple abrasion and contusions
to serious life-threatening wounds caused by weapons, to
death. Psychological problems include post-traumatic
stress disorder (Orth et al., 2008), depression (Bargai
et al., 2007; Falsetti and Resick,1995), and insomnia (Kra-
kow et al., 2001). Victims also have difficulties in adjusting
to society with feelings of revenge (Orth et al., 2006) and
anger towards the self (Orth and Maerker, 2009). They try
to cope with the varied consequences of violence by report-
ing the crime to the police, demanding justice and punish-
ment of the offender or, at worst, seeking retribution on
their own (Orth et al., 2006).
In most societies, victims of physical assault instinc-
tively turn to the police for assistance. The nature of the
police response at this moment of crisis for the victim is
critical in determining the victim’s degree of satisfaction
with the police. For the police, victim satisfaction is impor-
tant because it impacts legitimacy and acceptance of the
police (Sunshine and Tyler, 2003; Tyler, 2006). Victim
satisfaction is dependent on the procedural justice received
by the victim and the outcomes of the process (Lind and
Tyler, 1988; Tyler, 1988; Tyler and Huo, 2002). This study
examines data collected in a survey of victims of physical
assault who reported the crime to the police in India. It
analyses the impact of procedural fairness and outcomes
on satisfaction with police services.
Literature review
Victims of assault usually approach the police to report the
crime. If the assault results in serious injuries and requires
medical help the chances of reporting and registering the
crime are higher because it becomes a medicolegal case.
Registration, investigation and solving of the crime are
early outcomes in the criminal justice process that address
the crime. Victim processing involves a series of decisions
Corresponding author:
TK Vinod Kumar, Department of Criminal Justice, Indiana University
South Bend, Wiekamp Hall 2231, South Bend, IN Indiana 46634-
7111, USA.
Email: vkthiche@iu.edu
International Journalof
Police Science & Management
2017, Vol. 19(4) 273–284
ªThe Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/1461355717733138
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